During our five months in Lithuania, we lived a pretty much paperless life. Oh, we used at least our share of toilet paper, paper towels and tissues, but we recieved not one piece of snail mail, real or junk, paid our bills on line, and had no printer for our computers. David and Tracy, back in Georgia, on the other hand, had more junk mail than usual because our mail was forwarded to them so they could take care of business matters. Bless them. We each had a few books we needed for our work, and Del had a couple of nonfictions to read for pleasure, but I relied entirely upon my beloved Kindle. That is, of course, until I killed it and had to search for a couple of mysteries to tide me over until our family brought a replacement. We had so little paper that when a pesky fly got into the flat, we could not find anything to use as a swatter.
At first it just felt strange. There were two faces visible at the breakfast table instead of hidden behind newspapers. I had to learn to carry cash for the many places that did not accept credit cards because even with a bank account, there are no checks. No lovely catalogs appeared in the mailbox we didn't have. I could not swat that pesky fly.
Gradually, our paperless state began to feel normal, freeing, even. There was nothing to file, or to stack up in a pile on the desk we didn't have. We began to eat our breakfast while reading the news on our computers, not a good habit, but surely no worse than reading real newspapers, and I continued my habit of reading things I found interesting to Del whether he wanted to hear them or not. He continued his habit of saying "hm" when he read anything interesting which I took as an invitation to inquire about what he was reading, whether it was or not. Who says reading at the table limits communication in the morning? And best of all, there was no wading through a sea of newspapers to get another cup of cofee, or to pick up and dispose of.
Now we have been home for one day, and the paper already has the upper hand, and trees are falling. There is a pile of newspaper beside Del's chair. We arranged for the mail to be restarted a couple of days early, and it was waiting for us, along with the last pieces David and Tracy got before they left on vacation and the things they had received that now need to be filed, piled or shredded. Right now they are just spread. On the other hand, there were a couple of magazines, some professional journals and several lovely catalogs that reminded me that their companies value me and have missed me and in some cases will give me a discount if only I will contact them with my order. There was also a beautiful welcome home card from doggy Linkin's humans. Thankfully, there was not one credit card offer. We already have all the credit we can afford.
So, my conclusion is that I kind of like finding things in my mail box, snail or e, and I like some junk mail, but only the junk mail I like, which takes it out of the true junk category, I guess. I like the smell and crackle of newspapers, but hate the mess of them, and I absolutely hate to file. At one of my jobs, we finally got someone who helped us with filing. She looked at my large stack of papers and asked if I had any special system she should use. I looked at her seriously and said that I usually filed by date of receipt, newest on top. but it was okay if she preferred to do it some other way. She stood there a second before she realized she was dealing with a filing avoidance issue or perhaps a crazy woman.
At first it just felt strange. There were two faces visible at the breakfast table instead of hidden behind newspapers. I had to learn to carry cash for the many places that did not accept credit cards because even with a bank account, there are no checks. No lovely catalogs appeared in the mailbox we didn't have. I could not swat that pesky fly.
Gradually, our paperless state began to feel normal, freeing, even. There was nothing to file, or to stack up in a pile on the desk we didn't have. We began to eat our breakfast while reading the news on our computers, not a good habit, but surely no worse than reading real newspapers, and I continued my habit of reading things I found interesting to Del whether he wanted to hear them or not. He continued his habit of saying "hm" when he read anything interesting which I took as an invitation to inquire about what he was reading, whether it was or not. Who says reading at the table limits communication in the morning? And best of all, there was no wading through a sea of newspapers to get another cup of cofee, or to pick up and dispose of.
Now we have been home for one day, and the paper already has the upper hand, and trees are falling. There is a pile of newspaper beside Del's chair. We arranged for the mail to be restarted a couple of days early, and it was waiting for us, along with the last pieces David and Tracy got before they left on vacation and the things they had received that now need to be filed, piled or shredded. Right now they are just spread. On the other hand, there were a couple of magazines, some professional journals and several lovely catalogs that reminded me that their companies value me and have missed me and in some cases will give me a discount if only I will contact them with my order. There was also a beautiful welcome home card from doggy Linkin's humans. Thankfully, there was not one credit card offer. We already have all the credit we can afford.
So, my conclusion is that I kind of like finding things in my mail box, snail or e, and I like some junk mail, but only the junk mail I like, which takes it out of the true junk category, I guess. I like the smell and crackle of newspapers, but hate the mess of them, and I absolutely hate to file. At one of my jobs, we finally got someone who helped us with filing. She looked at my large stack of papers and asked if I had any special system she should use. I looked at her seriously and said that I usually filed by date of receipt, newest on top. but it was okay if she preferred to do it some other way. She stood there a second before she realized she was dealing with a filing avoidance issue or perhaps a crazy woman.
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