Today I went to the Post Office and spent $38 on postage: $5 to mail a box of candies to my father-in-law for his 87th birthday next week, $15 to mail a wreath to Yule in Hawaii and another $18 for books of stamps for the Christmas cards I still need to write. It is getting more and more expensive to stay connected the old fashioned way...which is why I like Facebook. Despite all its faults, it does allow a person to connect with many people at no cost. Especially if one uses the chat box at the bottom of the page--that is just like having a conversation with the person face to face...I really like it as it allows me to connect with old friends whom I haven't physically seen in ages (sometimes years) and yet, the chats we have are as if we had just met at the grocery store the week before. The flow of conversation is sometimes jerky because my reply may come in after the other person has already written something else, but all in all, the method is useful to me.
However, I'm not saying that one method of staying in touch is better than the other because I really like writing letters and mailing them out and especially enjoy receiving them. It's a special day when something other than sales fliers, magazines, pleas for money from some non-profit I've never even heard of and bills arrive in the mail box.
Staying connected is the important thing, whether I write a letter or use the computer to dash off an email to someone or manage a chat session with a friend. I think it's especially important to me because I work all day at my desk, at home, and rarely see other people other than my own family through the week. I am reminded that a bigger world exists out there and that I am a social creature. And, I like the fact that I can do my letters and emails and chats while wearing my pajamas and old wool socks that bag around my ankles!
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