There is always something to be grateful for.
Last night as I was driving to work, I listened to an old friend’s personal podcast
A verbal letter to me from sunny Australia
A personal hello, to me in the Bluebell confessional
In the dark and rain
A friendly voice in a dismal winter.
I have known Nia since her childhood.
When we were both gauche, and products of our own little town.
We haven’t grown apart in forty years for our affection for each other remains.
We just don’t talk regularly.
So now Nia will send me a podcast message.
A chatty Kathy round Robin to match what she catches up on Going Gently.
Her family news in Australia, her thoughts and feelings and worries and triumphs
Wrapped up in a verbal letter,
Like the ones we used to send
A million years ago.
There's something so affirming about long term friendships isn't there? It's as though by remaining a part of our lives for so long they (and we)say that we(and they )matter. Mary
ReplyDeleteMy friend made a point of discussing the blog and how by reading it she felt there was an imbalance of sharing . Her podcast readdressed that nicely
DeleteLove this idea, may steal it.
ReplyDeletePlease do
DeleteThere's nothing like an old and trusted friend, is there!
ReplyDeleteNo debra, no
DeleteI cannot remember when I last received, or sent, a pukka written letter. I presume that podcasts don't require a stamp; no wonder the Post Office is going bust!
ReplyDeleteIt’s about time they did given recent events
DeleteHow sweet it is to have words to listen to from your longtime friend! Sweet!
ReplyDeleteHugs!
Sweet and thoughtful . And an affirmation of a mutual relationship
DeleteIt does feel like a million years ago since we sent chatty letters. A podcast from a friend is a good idea and great to hear her voice like that as maybe better than Skype or Zoom for sound quality?
ReplyDeleteI love chatty posts too….
DeleteWhat a lovely idea. Almost like having them there beside you.
ReplyDeleteShe always is x
DeletePerfect companion on a dark drive home.
ReplyDeleteI have made no bones of just how difficult I have found January as a month. The dark, long wet days have literally depressed me, more than anything during lockdown ever did .
DeleteI needed this today x
You have some exceptional friends. So nice to hear their voices.
ReplyDeleteI am very luck, you are perfectly right, I do x
DeleteA real letter is nice, but to have their voice in a virtual letter is nicer. xx
ReplyDeleteI totally agree x
DeleteJust yesterday I sw someone on a video talking about how we should send our friends long audio messages. I've never thought of it and now the idea crops up twice in two days. You're dead in tune with the zeitgeist
ReplyDeleteI’m down with the yufff
DeleteI do wish I had friends still alive to send a message to. My one friend passed by yesterday and I hadn’t seen her in about three weeks, She caught me looking filthy as I had been cleaning junk out of the basement! I should have been outside as Toronto broke an 86 year high temperature when we reached 16.7 C Gigi
ReplyDeleteThat should read 15.7 C but that was at airport and where I live it is usually warmer. The usual high temperature for this time of year is about 1C I understand Great Britain has been having very unusual weather too. Loved the photo of the billy goat yesterday. He really looked like he wanted to come inside. Gigi
ReplyDeleteHe’s injured . We have reported him to the goat warden
DeleteBack in the 1970's my fathers great aunts and cousins sent audio cassette recordings back and forth. Sally had difficulty writing, but could push the record and play buttons. I tend to send long chatty emails from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI always like receiving them too xx
DeleteAudio must be lovely - I get long letters from friends I rarely see twice a year - When I forgot to contact a couple they were concerned and were going to journey to visit x
ReplyDeleteIt’s love
DeleteY
Remember having a penpal ? We were asked at school if we wanted to write to children in Sweden. My friends name was Elisabeth and she lived in Munksund. I still remember her address too. I also used to write to a girl called Cindy in Wyoming.She was the daughter of my mum's friend who was a G.I. bride.
ReplyDeleteI had a boy penal from Shrewsbury , it didn’t last long lol
Deletehmmmm?
DeleteObviously a typo Gemma's person, nothing to get het up about.
DeleteWill you travel to Australia to visit Nia? It's great that you have kept in touch for so long.
ReplyDeleteI saw her back in 2015 when I met Chris in Sydney , we all travelled up the Hunter Valley
DeleteWhat a great idea, it must be lovely to hear her voice.
ReplyDeleteIt was, oddly poignant
DeleteI found this inspirational and moving. We all need to contact each other more not less
ReplyDeleteKeith
Xx
It was a lesson we all learned during covid and lockdown Keith .the power of zoom, iPads, messages, and the like
DeleteThat power is wonderful for all those who have the technology to be able to use it. Sadly there are many who do not have the internet or the means to be able to obtain it, either financially or mentally. My mum and dad have got left behind in these days of technology and I worry what would happen if I wasn't here to do things for them. Even watching an evening of television is filled with www. this or that and phone numbers to speak to someone are getting rarer too.
DeleteAs I say, wonderful for those with the means and knowledge but very sad for others.
Wonderful you get to hear her voice.
ReplyDeleteMy niece heard me talking to her daughter ,2, on speakerphone , told me later it was good to hear my voice. It made me stop and think...that really does make a difference.
Could you narrate or record some of your voice occasionally so we can remember what you sound like? I'd like to hear your accent and then I can read your posts in your voice and accent.
I had told her before. I needed to come visit her and feel her , make sure she is real to me.
I liked the way I could concentrate on listening rather than forming a reply in between sentences.
DeleteIt was really that powerful .
Life-long friends have unique insights into our lives. A friend who knows my natural hair color -- as it was, and as it is -- remarked: "...just realized we've been friends so long, you've known all of my husbands and most of Mom's."
ReplyDeleteSome friends , just “ know you”
DeleteThey are always there, even without the friendship always needed or being fed.
This is a Frivolous post, with some seriousness lying underneath but it’s frivolous nevertheless. Blogland is too full of bloggers pontificating about the dramas of the world. Some do so with force and learning but I do not want to comment in fear of risking unwanted debates.
ReplyDeleteMost are full of their own importance.
Am I making sense?
Lee
I’m not sure are u?
DeleteAll blogs are different.
I make it a point NOT to generally comment on politics and certainly don’t discuss religious issues or conflicts .
I berated the American gun laws once which caused so much conflict , I was loath to do it again.
More recently literally any subject can be twisted into a complaint if the commentator wants it to be.
I don’t get the need to discuss knotty issues here. Too many raw emotions. I’ll stick to frivolity
Carefully answered.
Delete( in part)
Lee
Not really
DeleteWas this the friend you painted and cooked with via zoom, during Covid years? She is inventive about ways to be in touch.
ReplyDeleteShe is indeed Lizzy x
DeleteHearing a letter..a lovely idea.
ReplyDeleteBetter than a letter which often is skimmed
DeleteI used to share my thoughts on cassette tapes with friends "back in the day". They grew more and more complex, with music and comedy bits added in, until we apparently tired of them.
ReplyDeleteI think that sounds lovely , like your own tv programme x
DeleteI still try to write a handwritten letter now and then. I miss them too.
ReplyDelete