Well looky here, there's a call button on this phone too!

I should state at the outset, sometimes I'm not great at keeping in touch.

But, since I know and accept this fact, I also recognise the difference between the following two sentences;

'We haven't spoken in a really long time.'

'You haven't called me in a really long time.'

In the first one, perhaps we've both been at fault and just haven't had the chance to catch up. Or maybe the other person has called me loads of time and I've not responded, in which case, they are fully justified in using the second sentence.

But here's a heads up for those who haven't called me in a really long time either; you don't get to complain about me calling you. The phone lines are connected both ways.

I know, I know, it takes a little getting used to. But try it.

You'll find the results quite educational, and perhaps even just a little rewarding.

Everyone's got problems

This was brought to my attention during a conversation with a friend (one of the select few that is privy to the less frequent but still energetic whining that I must indulge in). So she was taken in by the woes and troubles of a colleague, a minor something that was made to seem like the Armageddon, and only later realised how piddly and downright silly these complaints were in comparison to the significantly larger and more serious problems in her own life.

The point, as she told me, was this; whether you've got a broken toe nail or a terminal illness, your problem is great and all-consuming only because it's your problem. No one has problems bigger or smaller than anyone else. They're all big. And they're all terrible. And only because they're personal.

Now, this insight may be as old as time, but I've taken the little gem to make my own woes just a little bit better. So when I've got the broken toe nail, I think of those with terminal illnesses. And should I have a terminal illness... well, then I'll know that what's required to make me feel better is to think of someone out there who's hopping around with a broken nail and thinking that the world has come to an end.

Try it. I think it works!

Where did you get that?

This is how you know you've lived away from your siblings for way too long.

You look at recent pictures of them and don't recognize any of their clothes.

If you have to ask more than twice 'Where did you get that?' or 'When did you get that?', then it's been too long.