The value of face-to-face

Over this holiday season I've been catching up with friends and family, who I haven't seen in a long time. That means lots of sharing of news – some of it good, some of it not-so-much. There's the friend who's pregnant again and the one still trying to get pregnant; one friend is moving away to be closer to her husband's aged parents; and a close family member apologised out of the blue for something terrible that happened years ago. There have been tears and laughs, skiing and movies, turkey and bubbly wine. It's made me appreciate the importance of face-to-face interactions over online, digital options. All the news and conversations I've shared could have taken place on Facebook or email, but they didn't; they waited until we were together. That's the value of coming together for holidays.