I remember hearing this phrase a lot when I was growing up. Instead of asking someone to “shoot me and email” when they arrived, we used to say, “drop me a line” or “don’t forget to write.” Those were the days. The old days.
Letter writing, and even writing with pen and paper, is a lost art. I pick up a pen and try to write some notes and I almost can’t remember how. It feels so alien to me. I think we also have a generation growing up without learning to write in cursive and without learning how to format a letter or even write the most basic salutation. That can’t be good.
I enjoy letter writing. Or at least I used to. I wrote a letter to my friend Kim, in Australia and really enjoyed it. I was pressed for time or I would have written more. And I wrote a letter to Deborah who is a woman in one of the Buy Nothing groups I belong to. We chat when she picks something up and sometimes we send text messages to each other regarding an item to be picked up. However, I have thought for some time that it would be nice to have her as a friend. A friend I might invite for a cup of coffee or meet for a quick chat. So I jumped in and used her address for one of my February letters for Incowrimo. It occurs to me that it is also one person I am reaching out to, a person on the fringes of my circle of friends, as I wrote about in Expand. So I’m on my way!
One thing that I like about letter writing is that it is so much more personal. When you open a letter from someone, you are holding the same paper they held and reading the words they wrote out in long hand. Maybe you are also witnessing their choice in paper or ink on the letter. In some cases, even the stamp used is a personal choice. So much more personal than anything else.
Well, on to writing my February 3 letter before the day is done! Happy writing!
and even if they grabbed an old flyer, to write you a note on the back of it… you’re reminded of what you know about a friend… it was the exchange of material, beyond the exchange of thoughts. Therer are so many ways to make contact with another human being…
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Writing letters is very satisfying and I agree there is nothing like opening a letter from someone written in their hand. I write to my niece all summer in summer camp and she writes back- it is great!
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Corina, I could really sense your excitement as you shared about your love of letter writing. I have always written loads of letters and have kept those unsent as well as letters from family and friends.
Recently, a friend of mind who is dying from motor neurone disease put out a request on FB for letters as it’s getting hard or even impossible for her to get out of the house now. I’ve written her a few and wrote a letter to my cousin when I sent back my acceptance to her wedding and to her sister when she had her first baby just before Christmas. They were very personal and strengthened the bond between us.
I should sit down and write a few more. I really miss writing letters to my grandparents. They’ve passed away now and so it seems has much of my letter writing.
Hope you have a great week. My daughter’s start at high school went well and they’ve both had a great start to the year. I’ve put a few photos and details on the blog.
xx Rowena
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Happy writing, Corina! I’ve been stumbling a little with the letter writing since it isn’t something I do much anymore. I used to write long, long letters all the time. I think blogging is what makes it more difficult. I have no new news to tell since most of it ends up on the blog.
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Well, if they don’t read your blog, you can still tell them something you wrote in the blog. Or write about a memory, something that reminds you of them or just some random thing they might like. A memory of a song? I think there are daily challenges for letter topics. I’ll find that and post it for you.
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