Spring Cleaning?

Dear Friend,

Despite the drop in temperature today, I feel that lovely feeling of Spring.  I know it's still only February, and the weather can still throw us a few cold and uncomfortable days, I know that soon it will warm up, flowers will bloom and trees will be green again. 

Unfortunately, that also means that bugs will return, crawling through the house and flying at the windows, driving me to distraction.

One thing I've never really "gotten" about this time of year is Spring Cleaning.  Yes, I understand that it is generally a time that people can open windows and air out the house, change seasonal wardrobes and generally a good occasion for making things tidy, I get that.  What I don't get is why Spring, exactly?  No matter where you are, what the weather is like, the tradition is Spring Cleaning. 

Spring Cleaning has never been my favorite task.  I wouldn't call myself a slob, exactly, but I tend to be on the, let's say relaxed spectrum of cleaners.  I keep my workspace very tidy, but otherwise I won't cringe at the sight of a little dust.  The idea of going through my things and organizing them isn't palatable. 

For this reason, I'm almost alarmed at my actions for the past week.  I've been going through everything from my Netflix queue to my followed Twitter accounts and "pruning."  I think every set of lists and links that I have has been significantly cut down this week.  And the urge to minimize has not been satisfied yet.  I imagine in the next few days I will resort to pulling out entire drawers and storage bins and chucking possessions willy-nilly. 

This is not like me. I'm the woman who has toys that I can't bear to give up scattered about her room, to the extent that small children think I'm about twelve years old.  I have shirts that I got when I was ten. (Very few, possibly two, and they were very large for me then) I have two dresser and two closets, for heaven's sake!

The only time that I've ever noticed people ridding themselves of possessions to this level has normally been before moving.  I'm not moving, am I?  I'm almost afraid that my spirit or subconscious are subtly telling me that something is about to change.  I don't feel like anything is about to change, and in a way that worries me.  Change always comes when you least expect it.

Does my wondering about change qualify as expecting it, therefore meaning that nothing will change?  Hmm...

Blog title change, here's why

Dear Friend,

If you are particularly observant, you may notice that the official name of this blog has changed from "Letter to You, My Friend" to simply "Dear Friend."  I've been addressing my blog entries Dear Friend for years, and may not have given a thorough explanation of why I do.  If you are, as I said before, particularly observant you probably noticed various references to You've Got Mail around the blog.  I have, on the top right column of the page, a quote from that movie, and my tags list is under the heading "Fox Books" which was the book store owned by the character played by Tom Hanks.  My links list may prove more difficult to understand, though, since it's not from You've Got Mail, it's from The Shop Around the Corner, the movie that inspired You've Got Mail. Also, instead of listing followers and friends I have "Box 237" which was the post office box number in In the Good Old Summertime.

Those movies are the reason that I begin my blog entries with "Dear Friend."  A plot that despite being done three times over on film still touches my heart each and every time.  In each of these movies two people begin corresponding, either through letters or e-mail, and feel a strong connection, building up to love, with each other; while at the same time, they work with or interact with each other in their everyday lives and don't get along.  They don't know that the same person that lifts their spirits with their letters is the same person who drives them crazy. 

The first film, The Shop Around the Corner with James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, is set in Budapest Hungary and the main characters work in a leather goods shop.  In the second, In the Good Old Summertime with Judy Garland and Van Johnson, is a period film and in a way a musical with the characters working in a music store. The third, You've Got Mail  with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, is set in New York and instead of the characters working together, they are rivals in the book business.  Each film has its own setting, feel and situation, but the plot, and heart, are the same. 

One of the elements that is shared by each film is the fact that each letter sent is begun "Dear Friend."  I love that touch.  I am enchanted by the possibility that two people can get to know and love each other through letters.  It almost seems like an idealistic fantasy, which could almost be a little of the point since the characters originally don't get along in person. 

Another aspect of these films that I like is how these films illustrate that your impression of another person can be wrong.  You can disagree with them but that shouldn't be the basis of how you think of them in every other aspect of their lives.  Most of the time the characters met and initially liked each other, but somehow got on each others wrong side.  It's nice to watch people take a second look at what they thought they knew and reevaluate it. 

So there you have it, the reason I begin all of my notes to you with "Dear Friend." I've seen these movies so many times that it rubbed off on me.  I can definitely recommend that you see each one of them.  (My personal favorite of the trio is Shop Around the Corner)

The Art of Being Friendless

Dear Friend,
I find it extremely ironic to begin a message about being without any friends with "Dear Friend," but that is how I begin all of my entries, so there it is. 

I've been living in Virginia for over four years now, and I don't have a single friend here. I don't even have acquaintances. I realize it can only be my fault, that it takes a special sort of hermit-like person to go that long without forming any type of bond with another human being.  The problem is I have no clue how one goes about making friends.  I came to the realization one day that every friendship I ever had was practically placed in my lap.  I've had to put in the effort to maintain certain friendships, but it has never been an effort to make them.  That isn't normal, is it? 

I keep in contact with people who I used to be friends with, but it never is quite the same, talking through e-mail or Facebook, as it was speaking face to face.  Conversations always become shorter as time goes on, and each of our lives get a little farther apart, no matter how hard I try. 

I'm not complaining, exactly, I'm an air force brat, I'm used to leaving friends behind.  I'm an introvert, I prefer to spend a certain amount of time alone to recharge.  I'm simply beginning to think... I've overdone it. 

There is an art to being friendless. I think I've got a good handle on it.  I'd like to try life the other way, though, for awhile.