Let’s Keep in Touch

This platitude is usually added to the end of a yearbook. Other favorites are “Stay cool” and “Have a neat summer” and “You rocked my world, I’ll never forget that night on the Burleson Dam.” But most often you hear people say “Let’s keep in touch” whenever two people part company.

When they say, “Let’s keep in touch” what they usually mean is “You keep in touch with me.” I am officially no good at “keeping in touch.” If I don’t see you every week chances are I’ve forgotten you. It takes substantial effort to think of a friend I haven’t seen in over a month.

It’s not that I don’t like them; it’s just that I can’t do it. When I started school at ACU I told my friends in the Psych dep that I couldn’t keep friends for longer than 2 years. They all loved me so of course said, “No, we’ll stay in touch. Blah yada yackity blah.” I have not spoken to most of them since I left, the exception being Ty.

I still consider those people my friends; I can maintain a kind of hibernating friendship with minimal contact. And if our fates cross again we can resume where we left off. Case in point: Emily Tate. When I left for college we fell out of contact save for summers and sometimes Christmas. Then when we both landed at ACU we picked up where we left off. No fuss, no muss. But that is Emily, low maintenance, and a class act all the way.

Some friends I haven’t kept in contact with give me grief over it. They call and guilt trip me about not staying in touch. But I tell them, this is not one of my strengths, I’d like to stay in touch but you will have to do all the work.

Here is a list of people in chronological order that I’d like to talk to more often but never remember to. I still love you all but I’m not good at maintaining long distance contact: Preston Butler, LaBoon, Jonny Bartee, Brianne Westmoreland, Brian “Creamy” Tendall, Ryan Crisler, Kim Holder, James Bocks, Gene Bates, Drew Dasher, John Burgess, Most of the HU Theatre Department (like Bethany), Roseanne Hitlet, Matt Ellis, Allison Gervais, Most of the ACU Psych Department (like Bre and Sweatervest), and others.

If you are not on that list, I think we still have some level of contact. You should feel blessed, as I do, that we’ve not lost touch. Or if you’re not on the list I’ve completely forgotten you. Either way the ball is in your court, “Let’s keep in touch” (And by “Let’s keep in touch,” I mean, “You keep in touch with me.”)

What worries me is what my out of contact list will look like when I’m 40 or 60.