Did you know April is National Card and Letter Writing
Month? When is the last time you mailed a handwritten letter to someone?
Recently? Last year? Never?
Your answer to that question may very well depend on your
age or generation. The older generation, who recall when typewriters were a
thing and computers were not the norm in a household, would remember letter
writing as a way to communicate, while the current generation of young adults
barely use phone calls to converse, much less write a letter. Their form of
communication has been texting or messaging for as long as they can remember. In
fact, if I had to guess, I doubt either of my boys, on their own, have used
even half a book of stamps between the two of them their whole lives.
This reminds me of a comedian we saw recently while visiting
the Brad Garrett Comedy Club in Vegas. Collin Moulton had some great humor
about aging parents and the huge generation gap between kids and grandparents.
One subject that brought tears to my eyes was when he joked about a grandfather
having to explain to a young one what writing and sending letters was all
about. This video will give you an idea of what I’m talking about [disclaimer, he
picks on the USPS a bit in this video]. All joking aside, it isn’t an easy task
to ask young adults or children to write a letter. The concept is extremely
foreign to them. If you’re a parent with kids, you’ll know this or understand
when the time comes to inform your son or daughter they need to write thank you
notes for gifts or money received after their high school graduation. The question
I got was, “What do I say?”
I can’t recall the last letter I wrote but I’ll admit it’s
been quite awhile – I had a great aunt who loved
sending and receiving cards and letters (plus she never owned a computer or
used email), so she and I continued to write to each other for years until she
passed away a number of years ago. I’m thankful we shared the experience because
the notes and cards I received from her are now keepsakes and will always hold
special memories for me.
My aunt and I wrote back and forth because we both enjoyed
the process of writing and receiving cards and letters. During other time
periods when I’ve written to family and friends for any length of time, the
reason has always been due to distance or because there was no other way to
communicate. One example is when my
brother was in the service or when he was out of the country and gone for
months at a time on missionary trips. Email was not always an option given
whatever location he might be in. Another stint in letter writing was when a
friend of mine was in prison for about a year. I couldn’t visit her at the
prison, so it was the only way we communicated until her release. When I was in
middle school, my best friend in the world at that time moved out of the state
and I was devastated. As devastated as you can imagine a 13 or 14 year old
might be. We wrote from that point and all through high school, almost religiously,
and even a bit beyond I believe. Those types of letters are precious and likely
the most honest truth about our young lives beyond whatever we wrote in our own
journals.
Having a month dedicated to sending cards or letters has
made me pause and think…I miss writing letters. I miss having a reason to write
and sharing the love of writing letters with another person.
Do we need a reason to send a card or write a letter? No. We
can send one, just because we want to.
Does someone have to live states away or even in another
country to deserve a card or written letter? No. we can send one, just because we want to.
But the way our lives move on at such a fast rate of speed,
we don’t tend to find the time to sit and write a letter or a cute note in a
card to someone special. Especially when it’s just as easy to pick up the
phone, send a text or stalk them on Facebook.
So for me, because I have more stationary and cards than I
need (I’m sure I’ve mentioned it…I’m a stationary/paper/journal addict), I plan
to use this month as an excuse to get back into snail mail. Some challenges I’ve
seen involve sending a card or a letter every day – that’s too much for me. So my
challenge to myself is to pick at least two friends or family members each week
and send them either a card or a letter. Even if they don’t reciprocate with a
card or letter of their own, that’s okay, as that won’t be the point of the
challenge. What I’ll enjoy is the fact that they’ll smile in surprise when they
realize there’s something in their mailbox between the bills and the junk mail.
If I can make a loved one smile at the sight of something as
simple as a note card or letter in their mailbox, that idea alone will brighten
my day and is the only reason I need to take on the challenge.
How about you?
Is there someone you know who would smile at the sight of a
card or a letter from you in their mailbox?
Even something short & sweet?
I'm betting there might be… J
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