Keeping in touch with old friends by spending time together.

Eric, Kathryn, and Steve in Edmonton, Alberta.


People move.  Times change.  Family, work, health, and life - they get in the way of keeping in touch.  But that doesn't mean those who once were an important part of your life have to disappear.  You can renew, refresh, and reaffirm those relationships by using that rare commodity we all covet - time.

The first thing is that you can't keep in touch with everyone.  You have to be selective.  I keep in touch with those who are interested in me/us.  If people appear disinterested, dismissive, or emotionally distant, that's a good sign that trying to maintain a relationship just won't work out.  That's OK, although I have to admit it hurts, especially when you thought you were an important part of their lives.  You have to move on.

The next thing is to touch base once in a while.  A phone call.  Mail (remember that?).  Electronic connections.  But the best way is being as direct as possible.  In person, face to face, with a common goal.  A walk.  Dinner.  Games.  Coffee.  Any of them, all of them, and more.  It says to them, "You are important to me.  I care about you, miss you, and want to keep you in my life.  And to prove it, here I am, spending time with you."

I am retired now and have time, not a luxury that everyone has.  In the past, when there was a job and family to worry about, there was less opportunity, but I still made the effort.  Maybe not as often, maybe for not as long, but it was there.  "I am here.  You are important to me."  Weeks, months, years - sometimes even decades.  

There are people from my childhood I think of frequently.  High school.  College.  University.  Work.  Church.  And people that my kids knew.  Hundreds of people.  Most have gone their own way, but some are still in my life, even if only briefly.  That's because they know that I think, "You are important to me."

You are important to me.  

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com
 

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