Wndrfl Wrld of Txt
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Jason and I went and updated our cell plan to get a family package. Deborah (now that she's a working woman) got her first cell phone as an early Christmas present and I finally became mobile again. We had a great time picking out phones for everyone and figuring out what plan would work best for our family.
One of the things that we insisted on was a plan that included unlimited text. I realized this summer that children Deborah's age don't communicate in any manner other than texting. She would send emails that would go unanswered as well as phone calls that would be left unreturned. It seemed that the only way she could stay in touch with her friends was to have a phone and the ability to text. Fortunately, she now has the option and has reconnected with several friends from her old school as well as a friend she made over this summer. So far she has been very responsible with not getting into texting until her homework is finished, not texting when we're doing something as a family and not taking her phone with her (or turning it off) when she's interacting with real live humans. I've seen people completely ignore folks they're with in order to take calls/answer texts and it can be pretty crazy sometimes. Hopefully her phone experience will be marked with common courtesy!
All that said, I must admit that I'm quite loving the ability to text again myself. My dear friend Tina and I have been able to have some really fantastic conversations 160 characters at a time. We've talked about silly stuff like our favorite David Sedaris lines and the weather to weightier subjects like feminism and religion. She's able to sit her her tree stand hunting and I can sit at my desk working and we're able to have conversations that would otherwise be unavailable to us. I find it absolutely fascinating that we're able to communicate that way. The two of us were big note passers in high school -- I guess that urge has never quite left us!
As this year is wrapping up, I was looking back on some of the goals that I set in the beginning of the year. I've followed up on some pretty well, some less so. One that was big to me this year was spending more time on relationships and I feel like that has been pretty successful. There are still areas relating to that where I could improve, but overall, I feel like I was able to really invest in a few people and improve the relationships that we had. I'm very thankful that there are people in my life with whom I can be very transparent and honest and who feel safe enough to be the same with me. Thanks to those who have given the time necessary to reach that point. My life is significantly more rich because of you.
And sometimes that richness is found in 160 characters or less.
Labels: friends, ponderings
