One of These Days

There is a famous song by Neil Young called "One of These Days."  The song begins like this: 

One of these days,
I’m gonna sit down
and write a long letter
to all the good friends I’ve known.
and I’m gonna try
and thank them all
for the good times together,
though so apart we’ve grown.

This song touches me every time I hear it because of its poignant reminder to stay in touch with the people who have been important in our lives.  It’s so easy to lose touch, to lose track, to grow distant. 

I met a woman recently who writes letters every night.  She writes her son who only lives an hour away.  He is going through some difficult times, so she writes him letters of encouragement.  She writes to her sister even though they talk on the phone frequently.  She writes to old girlfriends, one of them dying of cancer.  She writes letters longhand with beautiful script handwriting adding a little circle dot above her i’s.  
Every night she sits down and writes a long letter to all the good friends she’s known and she thanks them for the good times they’ve had together.  She also writes them words of comfort, encouragement, sympathy and praise.  She writes about simple things like what she did yesterday; the kinds of things someone might post on facebook, but hers would arrive in your mailbox instead, with a nice stamp and maybe a sticker or two on the envelope.  You might call her old-fashioned, but every day when she brings in her mail, she also receives one or two letters in return.  She is living Neil Young’s song and it is a beautiful thing.