Catching Up

There are certain members of my family that I have not spoken to for awhile because I know that once we start talking, it will be a 4 hour conversation. I always feel badly when I see their number come up on my phone and I ignore it. It's nothing personal, just that I rarely have time and energy at once to handle a 4 hour conversation, as enticing as the idea may be.

Once again I find myself reduced to determining the "when" for these activities, and I have decided that this lull between semesters is an excellent time to catch up with my siblings. Each day I determine to call one person and talk as long as they want to. I clear the time with them ahead of the day so that they will also have a clear calendar to chat with no interruptions.

I set up with a glass of water, a box of tissues and an empty bladder. I call the number. We are delighted to hear each other's voices. We have no difficulty plunging in to a prolonged conversation. This works quite well. I loved catching up with news and chewing on philosophical issues and discussing the touchy politics and religion topics. It was wonderful.

Now all I need are a few more between semester breaks!