Who does not get excited when they see a handwritten letter in their mailbox? I mean a real and genuine handwritten letter actually sealed in an envelope with handwriting. Not the prefabricated autotyped envelope with a font that is supposed to look like handwriting. The real deal. You see it sitting among all of the flyers, offers, sales pitches, even those dreadful bills. A letter. It may be a plain white envelope. Or a bright colorful one. No matter the size or color, it has handwriting on it. Real handwriting. Someone took the time to write. On paper. With ink or pencil. You get a tad bit curious and even excited. It is rare to have an actual letter in the mail. People call it “snail mail”. It should be called “timeless” mail. It is harder to lose. You cannot delete it and then regret that you do not have those words forever. There really is something to be said of a box of old letters. You see small boxes or ribbon wrapped collections in movies, usually dating to an older war. How many children today have a box of real handwritten letters stowed away in their attics? How many will have them in the years to come? When real letters are written, and kept, they become a story. A part of someone’s history. A snapshot in time. Something of a legacy to hand down to the next generation. What is there really to hand down with emails? Many of the younger generation do not really know the fine art of letter writing and the gift of receiving them. How terrible to let such an honorable tradition fall by the wayside. Letter writing should be revived. Maybe if everyone of us wrote one letter to a friend or loved one, we could show the younger generations the beauty of writing a letter and the wonder of receiving one. Maybe if I write one letter a week (if I can write several posts a week, surely I can handwrite one letter for the mail), I can inspire someone else to write a letter. I can show my loved ones and friends more of me and where I am at on this journey of mine and help start a letter writing revival. I wonder what would happen if every blogger on the internet wrote just one letter. A more creative alternative for the environmentally aware would be to use paint pens on solid colored fabric. A small group of friends, a couple, or a family could send short letters on cloth squares to each other over time and then all of the “letter” squares could be sewn together into a quilt. How beautiful would that quilt be?! One of my favorite quilts is one with old clean t-shirt squares used to illustrate and write favorite analogies from a book study. A quilt with stitched stories between family members, groups of friends, a couple would be timeless. Imagine the impact. Stop and think about someone who has never received a handwritten letter. Or someone that has not received one in a very long time. Would it not be amazing to be a part of that gift?
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I love handwritten letters! My mother-in-law and I love to communicate this way. Since she struggles to talk on the phone, this is the best way for her to find out what her family is up to. I love it!
By the way, I wanted to stop by and say….
Congratulations! I just awarded you with the Versatile Blogger Award (it’s a fun little award passed around within the blogging community). Here’s the shortlink: http://wp.me/p15O7Y-8x.
I look forward to the many great posts to come!
I love that you are able to communicate with your mother-in-law this way. Saving them and binding them by seasons or years will make wonderful gifts to hand down to your children. The history and stories for them will be such an amazing tradition for them to carry forward into their own futures. : )
And thank you! What an honor receiving the award! I appreciate it more than you know…feels really awesome. I always look forward to reading your posts and cannot wait to see what is to come in the future. : )
I didn’t even think they existed anymore. I mean I never get one anymore. I wish I did, I’d probably have the same reaction as you. Writing or using correct language is fading fast.. which I wish it wouldn’t.
I agree. It is so sad that it is fading away. Like I posted, it would be really amazing if we could get a little more snail mail crawling around the world. : )
I still write letters. I started in college when I realized that my grandmothers where getting really old and the likely hood one spending much time with them ( I lived states away) was not good. Now I write a family letter about once every 2-3 months to let every one know how my little piece of that family is doing. Though they are too bust to write I know that they are loved and appreciated. The only down fall is that I rarely get letters in return and I love them so much!
Great way to keep a connection alive and have something to share with those that do not get to spend time with grandparents. Keep writing even if they do not return the gift. : )Sometimes what appears to be a ‘one way street’ could actually be a hidden bustling highway!
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