“This is not a letter but my arms around you for a brief moment”
~ Katherine Mansfield
I read a lot of blogs… well, a lot for me… slightly over 200, and they’re a prolific bunch of writers. But, even that number is misleading. That signifies how many blogs are listed in my Google Reader, not how many are active. I have all of these many blogs categorized in nine different folders. It makes it easier to manage and leave comments when I can (or feel that I have something to contribute.)
One of these folders is titled ‘Hiatus.’ There are 62 blogs listed in this folder. Some are written by people who haven’t posted a new entry in months, perhaps now, closer to years. But, I loathe to delete them… you know just in case.
I simply can’t bear to delete one of these blogs. Written by a woman who has been missing, presumed dead, for more than two years. The last posting was in October of 2008 and was a heartbreaking plea from her teenage daughter for her mother to come home.
I still hope that someone in her family will post something telling us what happened to Beanie, or that she came home, and is safe and well. I know that’s unlikely at this point, but just in case, I keep the link in my Reader.
A few of these sporadic writers are on Twitter and I’ve been able to maintain contact with them there. Whenever I open my Reader and one of those dormant files show activity, I get a little thrill, like a surprise gift was left on my doorstep. I stop by, leaving a little ‘welcome back’ note and hope the author remembers me.
Having started over on my own blogging adventure, changing names and location, I wonder sometimes if occasionally someone searches for a new post from me only to find that the old site is no longer accessible. Are they sad, or completely unfazed?
My regular mail address book is much the same way. I haven’t updated it in… well… forever. I have contact info for people I haven’t seen or talked with in years. Even my mother’s phone number has changed and I didn’t correct the listing. I hardly ever send letters or cards. I’m terrible for remembering birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. If I can’t fulfill my obligation with a phone call or email, you’re just out of luck.
It used to not be that way. When my husband and I were first dating in college, he co-oped – moving away every three months to work in his field of study. This was before cell phones, before Internet. If we wanted to keep in touch we called, late at night or weekends to get the lowest rates or wrote letters – hundreds of letters. All of which I saved.
I don’t think I’ve written a letter since then. At least, nothing longer than a scribbled note on a card. Emails, sure… but there is something unique about getting a handwritten letter. Something you can carry with you, to read any time you want. Something personal from someone special.
Considering how much I enjoy getting mail, I really should write more letters. I should be better about keeping in touch with people, and not simply let them fall through the cracks. I need to be a better friend.
I can’t complain if I am not doing anything to maintain relationships. You have to give to receive.
Thin spiral notebook 
200 is a lot of blogs to read!
I write N letters quite a bit but he sleeps next to me nearly every night. Why do I do it? Well I just don’t know, but I guess sometimes I just feel like a letter will work better than my confused speech. (My newish meds leave me a bit tongue tied.)
I should write more letters.
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I’m with you on not deleting those old blogs. I’m nowhere near 200 blogs, but I should be. I’m really bad about following blogs I mean to. Oops. And that first story – I still have shivers about it. I’m stuck there.
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I just did a huge contact info update when I bought an iPod after Christmas. I added all of my contacts both e-mail & snail mail. It took for ever. I love the new look of your blog. I haven’t stopped by in a while.
* prayers go out to the woman who is missing. How sad.
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I recently deleted three or four blogs that haven’t been updated in 6 months. I have a “top ten list” of people I read every day. Of course you are at the top of said list. Wait, Bobina is first then you’re somewhere after her. Did I get out of that? I hope so.
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I still think of Beanie often, and keep her blog in my reader too. I wish we knew what had happened.
The only way I keep up with anyone is Facebook. If not for that I would be ridiculously socially cut off.
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her disappearance still breaks my heart.
i’ve always stunk at keeping in touch. i’ve almost lost friends because of it. yes, i’m THAT bad. it’s my major fault.
with blogs too.
xo
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Wow! 200 Blogs is a lot to keep in a reader. I have about 10% of that and have a hard time keeping up.
I don’t keep up on my blog like I used to and also found many of my original blog friends have dropped off. I agree that it is always exciting to hear from someone you haven’t heard from in a while.
I find FaceBook has become a good way to keep up with my “real-life” friends. It is hard to keep up with friends and family like I was able to before I got married & had my boys.
The nice thing about true friends is that you are able to pick up where you left off. Life sometimes gets in the way. No apologies necessary.
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I hear you – I am so bad at keeping in touch, whether it’s email or phone … and letters! I don’t think I’ve written a letter really since I got internet at home. Even before then, the only letters I wrote were to one childhood friend … and the replies were so sporadic I gave up.
But to be honest, where I really, really fall apart is blog comments. I used to be good about it, back when I first started blogging. I would hit some of the various blog sites, chat with people, read their blogs, leave comments.
About the time Cre8Buzz died, several of my bloggy buds also quit blogging. And I guess I detached from the whole scene somewhat at that time. There are a handful that I make sure to hit, but I rarely comment anymore … I suppose I’m “protecting” myself from the day, they too disappear. Pretty lame on my part. But at least your post made me have to think through that. (Sorry to leave a novel on your post – this is the other reason I don’t comment often.)
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And by the way, regarding the blogs that are no longer kept up? I keep them in my reader too, and LOVE when a post pops up. It’s like visiting an old friend, literally and figuratively I guess!
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The age of technology has all but ruined the “old fashioned” art of writing letters–which I always loved–as well as my handwriting, which is more like chicken scratch these days, due to the constant pecking away (haha, get it? chicken scratch…pecking?? I kill me.) I do on the keyboard.
I miss writing letters, though. I was blessed to receive not one, but TWO handwritten cards from friends a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been told that another is on its way. It’s so exciting! I think I need to take some time so send out some cards of my own. And I’ve got your address, so one day you might get a nice surprise. 🙂
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