Connections

It's a good thing Christmas comes once a year! Writing cards, sending photos, making phone calls - all re-connect people who really care, but may be separated by distance or busyness. This "touching bases" is not limited to family, but also re-connects friends.

For example, Wayne and Shirley were our neighbors in the apartment building we lived in when we first got married. They were there when Pat was born, and have sent us cards and photos of their son every year since, including this one.

Louise and I met in the mid-70s when we both worked for Dr. Wong, and we have been friends ever since. Although she now lives in a different state, I have participated vicariously in her travels and adventures, and enjoy her holiday newsletters. This year's note said, "Nothing interesting happened this year," which, knowing Louise, may not be strictly true.

Diana and I were in the same summer study abroad group in 1969, and likewise have been corresponding annually ever since. We've "seen" our children grow up and move out, shared stories about caring for spouses and parents.

In the family, I'm embarrassed to say I have cousins within driving distance that we only rarely visit or call. However, their annual Christmas newsletter lets us catch up not only with them, but also with their extended family.

In recent years, the Internet has also provided a vehicle for staying connected. Facebook is an easy way to make news and photos available for friends and family to see. My Jamaica cousins are on Facebook, as are the daughters of a cousin in Texas from my dad's side of the family. Twitter makes it easy to update my Facebook status from any computer or by sending a text message from my cell phone. And Flickr and other photo-sharing sites like KodakGallery make it so easy to share photos all year round, not just the canned school photos that we used to enclose in Christmas cards. (JOKE!)

I guess it's the same social conscience that brings families back to church at Christmas and Easter. It's been a while, but we're planning to attend Midnight Mass at St. Anthony's this year for the first time in 23 years.