Thursday, February 6

The reason I write letters

It's Thursday, one of my favorite days of the week! I've dubbed it Thank You Thursday, hoping to inspire others to take one day a week for note writing.

I feel strongly about thank you notes, small gestures of gratitude for random acts of kindness (or intentional ones). To know a letter was drafted specifically for you, the envelope was licked, the stamp was perfectly placed (if you're OCD like me), and it was mailed with the intention of making your day...priceless!

I'm convinced the world would be an extra harmonious place if there was more happy mail floating around!  Don't you agree?

The reason I write letters, aside from my attempt to preserve the written word, is a sentimental one.
Before the age of internet and social networking, I wrote letters.

You techy techy people might need to sit down for this one!

Paper to pen, this is how people communicated (some of you remember the days of pen pals).  The bond with my great grandmother (Memaw) was strong enough for this teenage girl to have a pen pal thousands of miles away.

We wrote about nothing much and everything, all at the same time. When I received her letters, I envisioned her sitting in her chair, legs crossed, and writing with shaking hands. As time passed, her penmanship deteriorated and the effects of age was evident.  But the letters kept coming, even though they were shorter and shorter. One day, I received the last letter with her regrets that she'd no longer be able to write.

A few years ago, she made her long awaited journey to be with her Lord. I cherish those letters even more now.

This is the reason I write, I still have those cherished letters. The card she selected to include her thoughtful words, the shaky handwriting, the perfectly placed stamp...it's a tangible reminder of her I will have forever.

Can we say the same about emails, tweets or text messages? Letter writing is the beginning of any personal and historical account, invaluable displays in museums around the globe. I wonder how different our world might be, had Apostle Paul sent his communiqué via text?!


Memaw, 1915-2011 (photo by Tammy Hall)

One of my cherished Memaw letters.

What is the reason you write letters?
 
 

10 comments:

  1. It has been a few years, but I had decided to write one thank you letter a day for a month. I wrote everyone from my family members and friends to the really kind man at the DI in Muenster, TX, (he knew my first name and had always has a smile on his face). They were random acts of kindness that had a special effect on me and the person receiving them. I agree with you whole-heartedly about making someone's day by a simple act. Thank you for sharing!! You are making the world a brighter, happier place!

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  2. What a great legacy Me-maw left us! I, too, have thank you notes written in her shaky handwriting for small trinkets I had mailed to her. I wouldn't take a million dollars for these tangible little pieces of her. Thanks for reminding us to leave this legacy for our loved ones.
    Mom

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    1. Thank you for teaching me the importance of sentiment! I love you!

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  3. I love your heart......

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  4. It is the power of the written word as it has been throughout history. From a handwritten letter to the front page, words incite action, inform, calm fears and touch the heart.

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  5. Also your memaw has a wonderful smile!

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  6. I have a cherished letter that I put in her shadow box! Along wirh a BC Powder that we found in her things. It's crazy the things that end up being priceless! Hence the package of Sweet n Low as well! Our MeeMaw was a beautiful gift!! I miss her so!

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Thank you for your comments, I enjoy hearing from you!