Technological Friendships

Those of you who know me well, or who have been reading here for a while know that my closest friends are scattered around the planet.  It's a rather inconvenient way to conduct friendships, when you can't sit and sip tea together, and give and get hugs.  But, we make it work, thanks to technology.

Yesterday I spent two hours talking to one of my closest friend on skype.  We even had video.  Most of the time we can't be together in person, and, as we talked, we were actually experiencing two different days.  It was Thursday afternoon for me, and Friday morning for her.  But, thanks to skype, we shared a meal - I'd just finished lunch, and she was having a late breakfast, and we hung out and laughed for two hours or so.

And, one of the things we talked about was this - how thankful we are for technology and the way it allows us to maintain friendships.  We can email and know that the other is going to get the message the same day.  We can use text messages or facebook.  We can phone and skype and know that we'll have a decent connection - the ability to hear each other and maybe even see each other.

And I'm so thankful for that.

Thankful that I can share the day to day stuff of life with my dear ones who are so far away.

Thankful that I can quite literally have a coffee date with a friend on another continent.

Thankful that technology lets these far away people that I love stay in contact with me, and me with them.

It means a lot when your dearest ones are scattered primarily at great distances from you, to know that there is a way to stay more easily connected.

I'm thankful for it.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 160

Today's Daily 5:

1. 1 year, 160 days of making these lists
2. actually getting a desperately needed long night of sleep last night
3. pomegranate green tea
4. canned peaches
5. wearing yoga pants and a very comfy workout top all day
6. a long skype chat with a dear friend
7. making my first new recipe of the year - tortellini soup.  It turned out pretty well - not my favorite thing ever, not totally sure I'll repeat it, but still a good experiment.
8. magic bags
9. mentally resolving some things
10. finally making some progress on some class work that has needed to be done for a couple of weeks.

Tonight

Tonight the plan is to use skype to talk with A.

A. and I have been friends for many years now - she's one of the longer standing ones.  There are two or three of that vintage, all ones I hold dear.  And only a very, very few of an older vintage.

I stayed with A. and her husband B. in Toronto last fall, when L. and I were experiencing autumn for the first time.  We spent a week camping in their living room.

Some of the most restful sleeps I've had in the last year were during that week on her living room couch.

A. is from Columbia, beautiful and graceful.  Trained as a professional dancer.  She moves with grace, but not just the grace of a dancer.  The grace of one who knows and loves Jesus, and who somehow lets that light ooze from her very motions.

And tonight, I get to talk with her.

I'm anticipating it, on this day that has been full of challenges.  This day that has at moments seemed unmangeable.

Because I have been lonely in these days of transition, and she is one who sees me, who knows my heart, and even the struggles and loves anyway.  Because we almost always pray together and for each other as we close our conversation.  Because tonight it will do my heart good to converse with a dear friend.