One of the most difficult things about moving three years ago was leaving behind people who have become very important to us. Ten years is a fair amount of time, and the friends we made in Boise have come to be some of the longest-running friendships my wife and I have known. We vowed to keep in touch with these people. We’ve been largely successful, though it hasn’t been easy or as often as we’d like. Entropy affects relationships, too.
Yesterday, in an interesting coincidence, my wife and I both got packages from separate friends in Boise who had been thinking of us for various reasons. In both cases the things they sent showed that these dear friends really know us–perhaps better than we realized. And perhaps more importantly, it showed that they are thinking of us–and fondly.
That’s pretty cool, when you think about it. Someone was going through the regular course of their day and something cause them to think about us, to think, “Hey, I’ll bet my friend would appreciate this.”
And then they took it a step further. They didn’t just Facebook about it. “Hey Thom/Terhi, I saw something the other day that made me think of you!” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s nice to know you’re thought of. But they actually took time and money to send us something! They held something in their hands, thought of us, and decided they wanted us to have those things, even though we’re five hours drive away.
Getting thoughts and ideas to one another in our virtualized world is not hard. Getting physical things to one another requires time and effort. It used to be less of a big deal, I suppose, because all communication required that time and effort. Today it perhaps means even more when someone takes the time to connect in a physical, tangible way.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that my wife and I are blessed with really good friends who are willing to go the extra mile for us.
Thanks, you-who-know-who-you-are (I hope). These were wonderful gestures, and truly appreciated both for what they are and for what they represent. I hope we are as good friends to you as you are to us.
And because I feel the need to express feelings that mere pixels on monitor can’t adequately convey, I will turn to music–and an image that paints at least a thousand words. Thank you for your friendship, both of you.
http://youtu.be/rlr8JYn0QZ4
Thanks for conveying my feelings. I could have not said it better. I hope those you-know-who-you-ares will see this post. 🙂
Thanks. I thought you might not mind my speaking for you. Both of them have been known to visit here, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.
Friends are nice. I endorse that product or service.
[check. (one more to go)]
I love getting stuff in the mail and I know most others do, too. It’s the effort of actually doing it that means more to me than what was sent. I’m trying harder to be better about making the effort.
(Check two) 🙂