Do you remember the last time you received an honest to goodness, on stationery, hand-written letter? Weren’t you excited to open it and see what the writer had to say to you…to only you?
I have a friend who will occasionally write me a letter…a long, newsy letter to catch me up on her life. She tells me about what’s going on in Michigan where I used to live, and about her job, and her husband’s company, and what each of her kids are doing in their lives. She might tell me about a mutual friend she saw recently or what kind of flowers she will plant this year.
When I get a letter from her, I get a cup of coffee or tea and find a quiet place to sit where I can read and savor every word. Receiving a hand-written letter from my friend across the country feels almost like we have had an actual visit.
In the days before computers, people corresponded by writing letters and cards. Going back to earlier times before modern transportation and telephones, many a romantic relationship was nurtured along via the written word in the form of love letters and cards.
When I was in college, I would write letters to my parents and my younger brothers telling them about my life in college and asking about what was going on in their lives. At one point, I was so homesick that I would sit outside my apartment waiting for the mailman in hopes of getting a letter from home. The (young) mailman thought I had a crush on him and asked me if I would like to go out on a date!
Until her death at age 87, my farm grandmother would write me letters. I would get most of them during the cold winter months in Northern Indiana when she was shut inside. She would tell me how she longed for the melting snow and the first signs of spring. She would tell me about the vegetable garden she was planning for that year and how much she looked forward to my next visit. I so miss those letters from her.
Back when I was in college in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, it cost 15 cents to send a first class letter. On January 26th of this year, the U.S. Postal Service raised the rate to 49 cents for a first class letter. The good news is that your Forever Stamps are still good no matter how many times the postage rates change.
We live in such a fast-paced time now. We can send texts and email in a matter of seconds…and that is a wonderful thing. But I hope that someone this year takes the time to write you a long, hand-written letter meant only for you. And I hope I get one too!