The packages I sent to my kids across the country were not pricey. No jewels, no tickets to a Broadway show. But I was hoping to hear that they arrived safely. Asking point blank seems like overkill, as if they were Worth something. UPS gives me a tracking number, and I can obsessively check on my phone.

We watched a show about spies recently where every message was acknowledged. 

It seemed like a concise way to complete the circle. You speak. You know it is received. Handy. Not like mail that sits at the post office, never being picked up at all because I forgot to get around to it. 

John Gottman says that when spouses toss apparently random comments to each other it is a bid for attention. Healthy couples pick up on those overtures. They answer even if it is brief.

It keeps the circles of communication rolling. Which is a good thing.