::r u txting?

I am a frequent text-er (-or?).

I am not entirely proud of this, but it's a fact.
My brother Joshua, who is in charge of our family's cellular plan and actually bears witness to the number of texts I send and receive each month, has been known to refer to me as "Textzilla."

I try not to plan New Year's Resolutions in the traditional sense, because my track record of actually clinging to them is spotty at best.
But one thing I did decide this year is, I would love to spend more time ignoring my cell phone.

For me, there is nothing richer than being in the actual physical presence of the ones I love, beholding their precious facial expressions, bodily gestures, subtle nonverbal cues that tell me more than spoken words - or words displayed on a screen - could ever express.

In texting, Instant Messages, Facebook comments, e-mails, etc., some of us try to configure colons, semicolons, dashes, and parentheses into feeble hints of emotive expression.
I suppose we figure that any attempt at conveying tone is better than none.

But typing words onto any-sized screen, while it is convenient, handy, necessary and even fun sometimes, will never even scratch the surface of the joy and satisfaction held by flesh-and-blood interaction.
If I love you, I want to see you.
I want to give you a warm, joyful hug, sit beside you, see your smile, hear your voice, watch your face as you tell me all about the nuances and details of who you are.

Call me old-fashioned if you wish.
And yes, even if you do so via text, I will appreciate the irony.
I may even "lol."