Mail Time!

COMMUNICATION
ARTWORK BY TRACY MAY FOUTS

The mail being sent out shows 
the hope of communication,

 only if the individual first reaches out herself.

In regards to Christmas cards, one of my friends says “You have to send ‘em to get ‘em!”  Now it seems that not as many people exchange Christmas cards. It may be because life gets so busy, or it may be because people communicate more frequently now because of cell phones, email, and facebook!  Some folks enjoy those “family letters” and others find them annoying!  Though most enjoy getting pictures of the family to see how everyone has changed in the last year!

When I was at college in Kansas, my good friend from high school was at college in Kentucky.  We used to exchange letters every few days!  Of course by the time we got the letters three days letter the news was “old”!  But we did not care and we would write pages and pages to one another!  Now we communicate by email! 

In the house I grew up in, there were 3 kids, and we each had two different days to get the mail each week!  I could hardly wait until my days: Wednesday and Saturday!  It was exciting to watch for the mail.  I was always hoping to get a letter from someone!  And…because of that, whenever I would meet new people at camps, retreats, or events I would often begin a “pen pal” relationship!  It was really about connecting with others.  There was the anticipation of getting the letter, responding quickly, and then waiting again for a response! What fun it was!  It was about connecting with others!  I loved not only getting mail, but writing letters! “The times they are changing”….some people have loss the skill of letter writing! 

Now people communicate on a faster pace….emailing, skyping, instant messaging, and checking facebook to see what their friends and relatives are doing!  That can really be great, but sometimes others use facebook or cell phones to connect with others far away from them and miss the person standing right in front of them!  Make sure you have balance:  connect with those both far and near! And remember, if you want to connect with others, you need to reach out to connect with them!