Letter Writing
Posted under: There are, in this life, few joys to compare with the experience of getting a personal letter in the mail.
Day after day of unsolicited advertisements, newspapers, and coupon books. Month after month of bills and unwanted credit card offers. These days, there’s nary a single item that comes in through the mailbox that makes anyone cheerful.
Even Christmas cards, though a definite bright spot in our postal lives, feel a bit…forced. A hastily scrawled “Have a Merry Christmas! Love, X and X” is a wonderful reminder that we are being thought of…but it’s not the same thing as a letter, is it?
“The letter we all love to receive is one that carries so much of the writer’s personality that she seems to be sitting beside us, looking at us directly and talking just as she really would, could she have come on a magic carpet, instead of sending her proxy in ink-made characters on mere paper.” ~Emily Post
Have you ever opened your mailbox and found a treasure?
Perhaps the envelope was an odd shape. Not the long, businesslike rectangle of all the other mail, so it peeked out from the pile of pending garbage, just a little.
Curious, perhaps you pulled at the corner, lifting it from the stack. A smile spread across your face as you see that the envelope has been personalized – scribbles or stamps or cheerful paper cutouts. You turn the envelope around and see the name of your good friend hand-printed on the outside.
Surely you rushed to open the envelope. Did you tug at the closing flap even as you jiggled the key into your door? Did you toss your now-forgotten pile of mundane mail to the side as soon as you got in?
Perhaps you stood with your shoes and hat still in place, tearing at the envelope with bright eyes and a brighter smile.
Opened, did it reveal a sheaf of hand decorated and handwritten pages? Adorned perhaps with whimsical sketches or some personal touch that immediately reminded you of your friend?
Did you read the letters, devouring the information, shuffling the papers in your hands, feeling the quality of the paper? Could you perhaps detect the elusive scent that you remember your friend wearing? A hint of lilac, just a touch of cucumber?
Is there, truly, any experience to compare?
Well, perhaps there is…but I can rest assured that email is not even the first thing that crossed your minds, is it?
A good letter is like a polite visit – it should leave the recipient with warm feelings about the sender and reassure them that the sender thinks of them often. It should be a reminder of the friendship that perhaps cannot be continued in person as time and distance separate even the firmest of friends.
The letter should sweep in and out of the recipient’s life like a spring breeze, leaving a lighter heart and a smile in its wake. It should not tarry too long, or drone on oppressively. It should not expect to be cherished beyond that first moment, or even responded to. The letter should be written for that one, timeless moment – for that one, happy smile.
It should be a joy to craft, just as it is a joy to receive.
This experience – this loving hug in paper form – this is what I wish for those who get a letter from me.
I can’t even remember the last time I got a personal letter, but I’m now inspired to write one. Thank you. :)
Great post about letter writing. I love when I run across people who actually care about writing letters. It makes me feel like there is hope for the world. WOOOOOO! :)
@Seri
Woot! I hope you enjoy it!
@Wendy
Your site is a huge inspiration for me, thank you!
[...] Letter Writing [...]