Alone In A Crowd

[paulacas]

 

For all the communications devices that allow us to keep in contact with our friends and family, it seems that we are more isolated than at any other time. We can call, text, email, and video conference. For all that we can still be terribly alone.

We got a card from a woman who has been a friend to my mother since their childhood. They did not often see one another in person, but never failed to correspond with cards, letters, and pictures through all their family's milestones. My mother died 8 years ago, but her friend continues to be faithful in her correspondence.

Her Christmas card this year gave us the sad news that she has an auto-immune disease for which there is not cure. Instead of bemoaning the fact that she could die at any time, she celebrates her life and family while looking forward to seeing her friends who have gone before.

We are a very mobile society that picks up and moves at the drop of a hat, and we were a part of that crowd until we returned to our hometown 12 years ago. In all that time and with all of the people we have been friends with, only a few have survived our transitions from place to to place. As much as I love the friends that survived our moves, I mourn those that did not.

I said all that to say that about noon today, I got to feeling a little blue, and to distract myself I thought about who I could call.

My best friend of 23 years, my husband drives long haul coal truck, so I can't call him. I don't want to split his concentration between his 40 ton truck and all the other drivers on the road multi-tasking while they drive.

My friend that survived our move from Texas to Maryland...she works nights, which means she sleeps days, oh well.

So I settled for putting thoughts to paper, and the realization that for all our instanteous communications, we are all still very alone.