Personal Correspondence

Posted: February 16th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Japan, Personal, Update | Comments Off on Personal Correspondence
Change back to previous format
Well, well, well, it’s been quite a while. Again.
I’ve become rather consistent at being inconsistant.
I couldn’t say if it’s the general busyness of life or some manifestation of my innate procrastination habits.
I’m banking on a hybrid of both.
That being said, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this posting. (Although, they often say “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”. I promise I won’t poison anyone on purpose.)
————-
Personal Correspondence
Since moving to Japan, I have found that I get the most hand written, personal correspondence from two sources:
1) Older relatives and friends of the family.
2) Friends in America (in spite of my neglect and overall terribleness at keeping in touch.)
BOLD In this post, I’m mostly going to focus on the older relatives and friends of the family.
The two main culprits in this category are my grandma and the pastor’s wife from the church that I grew up in and called subsequently called grandma.
Now, I’ve done a pretty good job keeping in touch with (biological) Grandma (and Grandpa.)
I call them at least once a month. My reasons aren’t complicated. It’s mostly because I love my Grandparents. But I have to say, a close second is excited Grandma is to talk to me. Living in Japan has become business as usual to me, but apparently still looks pretty awesome on the outside.
Don’t even get me started on the street cred that Grandma gets at her quilting guild because I live in Japan. The crazy “Japanese” fabric [made in China] that I got her last Christmas must have been very envy inducing.
I see it as a “My grandson is a DOCTOR” sort of phenomenon. Apparently, there aren’t any grandson Doctors represented in the guild. To me, that seems to be a little bit more of an accomplishment than simply living somewhere far away.
But, per usual, I have digressed.
The second Grandma, the pastor’s wife, I see very irregularly. Only once or twice in the past few years. And yet, she continues to sent me letters, with updates and encouragement.
So, this got me to thinking.
I kind of just take these letters in and appreciate that people are thinking of me. But shy of the phone calls to Grandma, I haven’t really been reciprocating. I think this is childish behavior. That sort of receptive mode that is acceptable for children, is in turn, irresponsible for adults. I think it is prudent to give in addition to receiving.
They don’t have to be full of feelings, and gooey what nots like the Grandmas letters are admittedly famous for. In this case, I think it really is the thought that counts.
Real adults, real men, send letters when they need to. Because it is important to value people in a way that they will understand and appreciate.
(and Grandma doesn’t have e-mail)

Well, well, well, it’s been quite a while. Again.

I’ve become rather consistent at being inconsistant.

I couldn’t say if it’s the general busyness of life or some manifestation of my innate procrastination habits.

I’m banking on a hybrid of both.

That being said, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this posting. (Although, they often say “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”. I promise I won’t poison anyone on purpose.)

————-

Since moving to Japan, I have found that I get the most hand written, personal correspondence from two sources:

1) Older relatives and friends of the family.

2) Friends in America (in spite of my neglect and overall terribleness at keeping in touch.)

In this post, I’m mostly going to focus on the older relatives and friends of the family.

The two main culprits in this category are my grandma and the pastor’s wife from the church that I grew up in and called subsequently called grandma.

Now, I’ve done a pretty good job keeping in touch with (biological) Grandma (and Grandpa.)

I call them at least once a month. My reasons aren’t complicated. It’s mostly because I love my Grandparents. But I have to say, a close second is excited Grandma is to talk to me. Living in Japan has become business as usual to me, but apparently still looks pretty awesome on the outside.

Don’t even get me started on the street cred that Grandma gets at her quilting guild because I live in Japan. The crazy “Japanese” fabric [made in China] that I got her last Christmas must have been very envy inducing.

I see it as a “My grandson is a DOCTOR” sort of phenomenon. Apparently, there aren’t any grandson Doctors represented in the guild. To me, that seems to be a little bit more of an accomplishment than simply living somewhere far away.

But, per usual, I have digressed.

The second Grandma, the pastor’s wife, I see very irregularly. Only once or twice in the past few years. And yet, she continues to sent me letters, with updates and encouragement.

So, this got me to thinking.

I kind of just take these letters in and appreciate that people are thinking of me. But shy of the phone calls to Grandma, I haven’t really been reciprocating. I think this is childish behavior. That sort of receptive mode that is acceptable for children, is in turn, irresponsible for adults. I think it is prudent to give in addition to receiving.

They don’t have to be full of feelings, and gooey what nots like the Grandmas letters are admittedly famous for. In this case, I think it really is the thought that counts.

Real adults, real men, send letters when they need to. Because it is important to value people in a way that they will understand and appreciate.

(and Grandma doesn’t have e-mail)


Comments are closed.