Connect

A few years ago my brother and I lost touch for no reason at all. It simply got to be that too much time had passed, and he felt it was too late to "call back". We reunited at my oldest brother's funeral and we said we'd never lose touch again. Neither of us had talked to Jonny in years, and now we'll never be able to. Well here we are again, a year's gone by, and nothing. So often we just "loose touch" with people we were once close to, and feel like it's been too long to start communication again. What I'd like to share now, is a prime example of how important it is to take that leap.
I recently decided to write a person a letter, whom I don't even remember. It's been over 20 years since I've seen this person, but he played a pretty important role in my life for a few years. I wanted to know who he was, and how I was, and maybe get some more answers on who I am now. I wrote the letter on a whim never expecting a response, but after two weeks received a letter and a card.
That was back in August. Since then we have been communicating on a fairly regular basis, though it has been slowing. With everything I have to do in a day, sending an email gets pushed to the bottom of the list, and often falls off at the end to get tacked on the next day's to-do's. I did take the 5 minutes yesterday to get it done, but this whole experience has taught me a few things.
1. Once you have a connection to someone, it is there indefinitely. Whether that connection is positive, negative, or a little bit of both, it'll always be there.
2. Take the 5 minutes it takes to keep it alive. Even if it's one phone call a month, it's worth doing. We're all busy people. But how many people can you name in the next minute, that you used to consider 'close', and haven't talked to in ages? How many friends do you have on your Facebook that have had another kid, gotten married, etc. and you didn't even know?
3. People aren't going to be mad at you because you've lost touch. It happens to everybody at some point. If years go by and you finally decided to pick up the phone to say hello, I almost guarantee that your call will be welcomed and appreciated.
I hope this encourages you to reconnect with someone today. Or this week. When you are old and looking back on your life, you're going to miss all the times you could have had.