Email of a Different Sort

It's funny. Sometimes I receive emails rather like this from old friends whose children were Naomi's friends when she was a child:

"....... our kids are all doing great! Billy was just promoted at his (big, important-sounding) job. He and his wife just bought a (huge, expensive) house and their two (perfectly adorable) children have both skipped a grade.

Our Sally will be married next month at a (huge, expensive) beach resort --oh dear...the bills!-- and she and her fiance, also, were promoted at their (big-important-sounding) company.

Walter and I both still love our (greatly-aiding mankind) jobs and we recently bought both a pool and a sauna to go with the tennis court we had built last year after our vacation to Italy. We had a huge 4th of July party with our children and their friends and all of our children attend church with us every single Sunday. We visit with them almost daily and they have become our very best friends in all the world."



Oh my. Do you ever get those?

Only recently have I realized it's perfectly ok for me to respond with an email such as this:

"Tom, Naomi and I are all well and happy and at the same jobs and tasks as the last time I emailed. We are still grateful that Tom's arm surgery went well.

Our strawberries and raspberries are growing red and beautiful in our backyard. Early mornings I walk out there in my gardening dress and eat berries and call them breakfast. I like to clip lavender and Shasta daisies from the yard and place them in clear glass vases on tables around the house.

Tom and I went to the theater and saw The Lake House last week and then came home and sat on the front porch. We looked through our clear glass storm door and thought how much nicer our rooms look when seen behind glass, especially in lamplight. Since Tom had to work July 4th, we invited Naomi and her boyfriend over the evening of the 3rd and had a quiet dinner around the table since it was much too humid to sit outside. But the dinner was lovely and no one argued about politics."


Oh, that sort of thing doesn't make for an incredibly interesting email, but it does make for a very sweet life. And happy am I when I remember that, especially on the days I hear from old friends.



*****