There are all kinds of families…sporty, outdoorsy, artsy.
Me? I come from a letter-writing family. It’s in my blood.
And I am militant about handwritten, snail mail thank-you notes. I know I may be in the minority, but I can’t back down on this. I’ve been channeling my inner Emily Post for decades. I’m so etiquette-obsessed that my best friend had to gently remind me that once I got married I didn’t need to write thank-yous to my own husband!
But there’s more to letter-writing than the thank-you note. Once upon a time, it was a primary means of communication. Back in the days when you only made long distance phone calls on nights and weekends, people sent letters. My grandmother sent a weekly letter to my mom. These missives were nothing earthshaking. Just a recounting of the week’s activities, whether it was a trip to the hairdresser, a great golf game, or what she served for dinner on Tuesday night.
I became the beneficiary of my own mom’s letters during the summertime when I was at sleepaway camp. She wrote me every day! With such an excess of letters, I shared them with my bunkmates who felt just as loved by my mom as I did. When I went away to college, she wrote me regularly. Real letters in my PO Box in the student center provided me with a little glimpse of home.
Today, with texting and email, the art of the handwritten letter is on the brink of death.
And with the loss of the “real” letter, I think we lose a little joy in our lives.
Here’s my proposal for sprinkling more joy into the world: write more letters!
Cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents, neighbors. They all love “real” mail. Picture the joy when a loved one sees a brightly-colored card stuck between two business-sized white envelopes with plastic windows!
Go the extra mile with pretty paper or fun stamps. But even if the letter is on lined paper ripped out of a spiral notebook, I guarantee the time you took to write will be appreciated and treasured by the recipient.
Letter-writing Tips for Kids
- Non-writers and writers alike can send artwork
- Transcribe letters for non-writers
- Include a translation, if necessary, for an emergent writer
- Big kids can share their everyday experiences (went to tennis, studied for an algebra test, worked on a new cello piece)
Letter-writing Tips for Grown-ups
- Send a note to a childhood friend recalling a favorite memory
- Write a letter to a special relative sharing a fond recollection
- Write to your kids or spouse (and really send it via USPS)
- Write someone a “thank-you” note not for a material item but for the support or encouragement they have given you
Send a little joy in an envelope today!
