Catching Up

Due to the very busy nature of the past, oh, month or so, the last few days have been a chance for me to catch my breath and begin the slow process of catching up on everything that's fallen to the side--sleep, bills, friends, family, work etc. It's a process. I've found that the longer I go doing the little maintenency things the harder it is to do something completely in one go.

Example One: Before I had a Washer and Dryer, I would wait forever to do my laundry because I didn't want to lug it to the laundry room, but it would take forever before all my clothes were clean. Example two: The longer I went between cleaning out the fridge meant an evening wasted and a couple trips to the dumpster. Example Three: The longer I waited to take my car into the shop meant a MUCH more expensive repair bill.

Usually, the longer I waited to do something and the more things piled up, the less discriminating I would be. I just wanted to be finished with the cumbersome task. Who cares if I just bought those carrots and does it really matter if this new shirt is washed on the wrong setting? At least it's all finished right?

Can the same be true of friends who stop keeping in touch? I've been thinking about this a little bit since I ran into a friend at the Gathering whom I hadn't really talked to in about 6 months and another friend whom I recently emailed that I hadn't talked to in a few years. All the little things that make up the everyday get forgotten or simply glossed over and in an effort to "catch up," life is shortened to two or three sentences, "Yes I'm still in Oklahoma City, DCE-ing, yes I'm still single, yes I'm still enjoying what I do".

It does seem a little bit like the pile of laundry that can build up when you don't keep at it. The process of getting it finished is so overwhelming that everything gets lumped together. The process of actually truly catching up with someone is so overwhelming that it's easier to give the one or two sentence response as opposed to the "we should go to lunch and truly catch up" response.

The other way that catching up, like doing laundry, is successful is if you keep at it. No more waiting until mom comes to visit and does the laundry for you and no more waiting and waiting until opportunities deliver your friends to your front doors to do the catching up.