Faraway, So Close

Say what you want about technology; it does let us all be closer together at the holidays. First this morning it was one sister and her family, puttering around the house opening gifts from me at the same time as I opened what she had handed me at Thanksgiving before I headed south.

We chatted for a couple of hours about current events, gifts, plans for dinner, and all the other usual stuff that might come up if you were sitting around the living room together.

Down here it was sunny when the conversation started, so I took the computer out in the back yard to show her how nice it was after the rain. Then it started raining again, and I took the computer out there again to show her that. Then it was sunny again, but she’d already seen that.

Eventually we said our Merry Christmases and hung up to go get the rest of the day started.

Then it was a brother in Vermont, who had put his son down for a nap and earned himself a free minute to call up and say hello for the holiday. This picture doesn’t show it, but his wife came on too, and we chatted about current events and who got what gift and why and plans for next year and who had what for dinner and the dog’s health. (The dog is just off camera here, although he got to share the spotlight for a few minutes too.)

This brother and I keep in touch also via Twitter, which can keep someone at your elbow during the day even when you’re not at your computer.

Eventually we hung up too (they had more gifts to open in the other room), but there was still coffee in the pot in the kitchen, and another distant sister not yet heard from.

Good moment to finally grab that shower and see if the ground outside is dry enough to go for a quick spin on a bicycle. Too much Christmas coffee leaves my legs restless and twitchy.

I can see from the trees tossing outside, though, that a mighty wind is blowing. We’ll see what happens.