Finding the Perfect Way to Say Goodbye.
The electronic mail that flies back and forth between friends / co-workers / ex-lovers / siblings / strangers to break up the work day / finalize decisions / share ideas / make accusations has become second nature to most of us with desk jobs and portable, hand-held computer-phones. We skim their content, miss key points, ignore spelling errors, and multi-task responses until the moment we're stopped dead in our tracks. The inappropriate attachment is mistakenly sent in haste to our boss. 'Reply to all' magically appears without permission. And LOVE pops up in the signature, unannounced. The insignificant parting words between pen pals all of a sudden means everything, exacerbated by the emotional-less computer screen that allows our imaginations to wander, prescribing unrequited affection / defiance / declaration / passive-aggression to otherwise mundane farewell remarks: LOVE insinuates in love, BEST feels curt, XOXO is practically a grope fest, and SINCERELY is anything but sincere. Enjoy!
It's interesting how often we encounter this "dilemma." I like ttys, which is lame in its own way, but if you're writing to say, "Yes, I'm free at 3," it doesn't exactly deserve hugs and kisses. I also like the ever elusive dash.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Tiff
Sometimes I spend a full 2 minutes deciding whether I should be:
ReplyDeleteSylvie
or
-Sylvie