Written in English class at age 14.
As much as I love the instant gratification of electronic communication (email, IM, texting, etc…) I really miss a good old fashioned letter or handwritten note.
Yesterday, an old friend sent me this. A note I wrote to her shortly before I turned 15. I had forgotten that I occasionally wrote notes like this, usually when I was bored out of my mind at school.
It got me thinking, when was the last time I sent someone a note or a letter?
So, I am challenging myself (and the rest of you, should you choose to accept the challenge) to write a note to someone this month. It doesn’t have to be long, just something that requires a little more effort than hitting a few buttons on your phone or keyboard.
I almost guarantee, it will make someone’s day. And you might find you miss it, too.
Currently Listening to: Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead
I’ve blogged about this, too (long time ago, don’t ask me exactly when). You know what I miss? An excuse to go to the stationery story (do they even exist anymore?) and look at all the gorgeous paper and cool pens, and journals and stickers and all that other ephemera. Hand-written letters are so precious.
YES! I don’t know that there are tons of stationary stores now…they seem like they get absorbed into office supply and greeting card stores. But I can get in trouble in those, too.
My hubs kept the handwritten letters (and emails) that I sent him when we were dating. There’s something nice about having a tangible memory, right?
Glad you’re encouraging people to write the old fashioned way — it’s becoming a lost art. I pen about a dozen letters a month and there’s no comparison to the dimension of writing on “real paper” with a GOOD pen — and no keyboard “clicking” noise! Hang onto those cherished “love letters” etc. — I have a ring binder full of them, too!.:)
That’s awesome! I miss it, so I would like to write at least ONE letter a month (even if it’s something I hand deliver, leave on a doorstep).
I periodically send cards and handwritten notes to my kids through the mail, even though they are always with me. There’s something lovely about getting a letter in the mail, even if it’s from dear ol’ Mom. I’m also pretty religious about giving nice letterpress cards to the GuyFriend. Great shop for them is called Oblations Press in Portland, OR. Love ‘em!
I’ll have to check that out! Thanks for the recommendation – not that I need to be shopping. Ahem.
I am signing up for “Remedial Thank You Cards, 101.” I’m that terrible. And I hate it about myself.
MUST DO BETTER.
Really love this note. I was never that artistic.
Lori, I might just have to bust out and make another one of these for a certain special redhead.
Amber, I can’t remember the last time I wrote someone a letter! I do write notes to the Significant Other but they’re usually related to items I want him to pick up at the supermarket or things to add to his to do list. However, I am a hard-core sender of cards, all the way from birthday cards to get well cards. No crappy ecards for me! It’s incredible your friend kept your note for so long! Isn’t it wonderful to see stuff from the past? It’s almost like opening up a time capsule!
Bella, you would die. She had, not only this, but a game of MASH (I think she had several actually, but only scanned one) and a MASH inspired story. You see, when I played MASH, I required that we reveal the results to each other in story form.
I love getting letters in the mail, so I send them out every now and again. But when I do, I’m embarrassed by my terrible handwriting and scratch-outs. Maybe if I wrote more often, my handwriting would improve. ???
My handwriting goes in waves – sometimes I can make it look really nice. Other times, not so much. But I doubt that matters much to the recipient. It is so rare to get a letter from anyone (not a bill or advertisement) that it really is exciting opening the mailbox and finding one is waiting for you!
I love love love mail.
I make mail art at http://www.femailart.com
And, I just love letters.
I’d send you one, if you send me your address.
I just put mine out on Twitter with a link to this post. If anything comes of it, I will let you know. Love, S
That is awesome! I am shooting you an email
Loved this Blog Amber, I wrote and received letters all my life from my grandmothers…now that time has come and gone. I do miss receivng their letters. Not so long ago, I sent my sister, my two Besties from junior school…high school …still great friends after 35+ years.. all the letters that they had written to me spanning 20+ years. They were huge envelopes. Their response was Amazing…they got to re-live their lives….it was very Special. I have over the past few years and more recently written to people who had hurt me….it was a great process for Healing. Yes to receive a letter is so lovely….for so it seems…the utility accounts are all that most find in their mailbox. We can most certainly change someone’s outlook for the day. I always send my kids to check the mailbox….they too appreciate when they have mail. Happy Writing <3
I still get excited about checking the mail, even though there is rarely a letter waiting for me.
They (you know, therapists and such) say that writing to people who have hurt you in the past, even if you never send it, is a key part of healing. I tend to think that we express ourselves in a less filtered way when pen hits paper.
Hope a letter brightens your mailbox soon!
I love writing letters, this almost made me tear up. I know we have email, texts, facebook, blogs, but for a letter I would walk over hot coals. I am currently in recovery for my obsession with stationary stores… Some woman have it bad for shoes, I swoon anywhere there are pens and paper.
Given a choice between a gift certificate for a shoe store and stationary, I would be right there with you, Brenda.
I love your note! I actually try to send a handwritten note or letter once a week. Sometimes it is a note in a birthday card, or a thank you note, but I know how much I enjoy getting handwritten notes, and you have to send them to receive them
Worth writing about for sure! MMF
That’s a great plan, Meagan. I want to start with at least once a month, but once a week would be great going forward.
I am a big lover of the “snail mail”! I send out anniversary & thank you cards. I also do some of my ministry by letter especially if its an RV I haven’t gotten in awhile.
My mom is really good about sending cards for no reason. I enjoy them! Its like getting a present, you never know whats going to be inside since there’s no “subject line” to give it away!
P.S. Why does my icon look ill?
He looks more anxious than ill.
I agree, it is like getting a present. And I love being able to save it as a memory of that time or person.
I have a couple of shoe boxes filled with letters & cards from friends since I was around 13. Back before email
, I recently had to go through & clean out the cards that I got 15 yrs ago from my graduation since we are facing reduced space.
Of course, I also have all the letters, poems, drawings that my husband sent me as well. I know for a fact that he has kept mine as well.
I love to dig them out & read through them to see what was important to me at a certain age.
When my fiance and I were doing long distance (on the total opposite sides of the world) we would send hand written letters to eachother once or twice a month and they were THE BEST things ever to receive in the post. Every now and then we take a look and they’re so cheesy but such a great record to have. There’s really nothing like getting a hand written something in the post as a change from the usual bills.
My hubs and I dated long distance as well. He was in Seattle and I was here in Florida. We’d email all the time, but I would still send letters. And yes, some of them are cheesy, but I don’t care. Like you said, it’s a great record to have.
(Thanks for coming by!)
Used to write tons of stuff just like this as a teen. Now, I can barely write a grocery list. My handwriting is unreadable and I have no patience for long hand. But there is something marvelous about writing a letter and something even better about getting one. Perhaps I’ll take up your challenge, after all.
If you HATE your handwriting, get creative! Print out a letter in pretty font and paste it on to some cool stationary
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I, too wish that letter writing, the faded way of communication, would come back. But who are we fooling when we know that everyone is so busy with their hectic lives that they don’t have time to sit down and read the letters. My daughter and I exchange e-mails and I have learned to keep them short or she will not read the whole thing. With my son, I am reduced to texting. When my son was 16, we left him at home with his older sister while we went on our cross-country trip. I felt so bad because he didn’t want to go that I decided to send postcards. or letters on hotel stationery with details of the day’s experiences…Well, when I got home, they were all unopened on his desk. His answer was I am going to read them when I have time.
I also have a note written when I was in the 10th grade. I brought it to the 20th reunion to share, but for some reason I didn’t think we were old enough to laugh at our jibes at one another. Now, we are looking at our 40th reunion and I’m wondering if we are ready. It is really funny.
That is awesome! Sharing things from the past is great.
Full disclosure, this note was one my best friend from my teenage years saved. We had a falling out at the end of our teens and the friendship fizzles. It was a lovely way to reconnect to an extent after all those years.