The other night the full moon shined so brightly I didn’t need artificial light to find my way around the yard. It felt magical standing face to face with “la Luna.” I quickly ran back into the house and grabbed my Pixel to capture the moment.
So, I received an email this morning from AARP with the subject line, “10 Things the Pandemic Has Changed for Good.” Oh no. I’ll read this later. But then I took a peek. Just as I thought, the usual suspects: Working from home, Seeing your doctor, Shopping for groceries, Staying in touch, Wearing face masks, Going to movies, Traveling by air, Riding public transportation, Protecting your privacy, and Washing your hands. It was realistic commentary, like it or not.
But the one about “Staying in touch” stood out. Indeed, in the Covid age of social distancing, connecting with family, friends and colleagues via Zoom and other videoconferencing tools, is a real godsend. But to say that “Plain phone calls now feel sort of shallow” is, sorry, but quite off the mark. For me, a phone call is intimate because there are no visual distractions. How rare it is these days to place a spontaneous call. I have looked forward recently to sitting on the front porch with a glass of wine or cozying up with a cup of coffee on a patio chair, “dialing” the phone and listening only to the voice of my sister, sister-in-law or brother on the other end. Then I’m surprised to hear that they are surprised to learn that I called…just because.