How do you show someone you care?
It doesn't have to be one size fits all
Good morning, and happy Monday for those who celebrate.
I picked up something at the Post Office the other day.
For those under 30 a Post Office is a place where you can send cards and letters, return clothes that are one size too small to The Iconic (so I’m told), and buy quirky plastic objects that you’ll never use.
This is what I picked up.
Australia Post and mental health organisation BeyondBlue created ‘connection cards’.
A simple idea that you can use to write a short note to someone, and it is sent for free anywhere in Australia. (If you want to read more about this initiative, click here). I will post mine to a friend today.
I love that the idea is a physical prompt for connection. The same way greeting cards are/used to be depending on your POV.
The act of connecting with others takes many different forms and not all of them equal.
For example I play a daily game of Waffle with my Mum and we share our results in WhatsApp.
Occasionally we’ll pick up the phone or text about something but the regular contact is the result of the game that day.
With friends from school, there’s a WhatsApp group that gets the odd flutter.
Sometimes it’s to share birthday greetings (like yesterday) or other times it’s a ‘does anyone remember the girl at school who said she had a ‘dead’ mechanic for a boyfriend?’ (also yesterday).
Then there’s the people you really really like but hardly ever speak to. Sometimes it’s a random text out of nowhere. ‘Hey was just thinking about the time…’ etc.
Or the preferred method of contact of my Father-in-law in Japan is what he calls ‘audio’.
He likes to hear the sound of our voices and will gladly substitute a phone call for a recorded monologue, transmitted via WhatsApp.
Once it’s sent, one is almost instantly returned - answering any questions raised or giving feedback on any news shared.
Because I seem to spend my working life on Zoom/Teams/Google Meet, I prefer to avoid FaceTime if I can.
I like it when I’m travelling to see how everyone is faring back home. Often hearing the response ‘good’ when enquiring about how things went at school. Same answer often comes when asking ‘How's Mum?’. ‘Good’. What did you do today? ‘Not much’. Basically get off the line Dad, you’re interrupting my screen time.
No matter what your preferred method, making contact is just about showing someone you care.
How will you do that today?
See you next Monday Morning,
Wade