The past few weeks I have been clearing out closets and sorting through boxes of mementos that have been saved from many years ago. I came across this bundle, neatly tucked away in a keepsake box. I had put it aside, thinking I would look at them later. Then, Jan, of Stand and Stare, wrote a post called, "Love Letters from the Past".
These hand written love letters I have saved, are a rarity today. When was the last time you wrote a note or letter and sent it in the mail?
Today, we simply turn the computer on and dash off an e-mail to our friends and family....or a text message instead of a phone call. I wonder if future generations will simply lack penmanship skills.
In Jan's post she referred to another blogger, Elaine, from Life in the Slow Lane. Elaine, recently wrote a post about the vanishing art of letter writing.
The question was asked by Elaine, "Do you think e-mails will be saved for posterity? No, neither do I."
There is something so personal about taking a pen in hand and expressing your feelings. Everyone has his or her own handwriting style. Even identical twins have differences in their writing.
Why not write a letter or note today, to someone you love....
Meggie Mac
I'm big on letter writing because two of my best friends had been my penpals for years before we met in person! I met the first one back in 2003, here in Greece, after 7 years of corresponding. Then, I met the second, who is from Kansas, last year after 14 years of written communication!
ReplyDeleteI'll admit that we use e-mails and IMs now but I've kept all of their letters in a box and I cherish them like a small treasure! Sorry for such a long comment but I love telling this story!
Thanks for this post!
It is a beautiful story....nothing to be sorry about. Thanks for sharing it with me and all who will read this comment. Maybe many of us do have hand-written letters tucked away!
ReplyDeleteI have a large box of all the letters hubby and I wrote to one another over the course of nine years. He spent a lot of time away in the Royal Navy.The only ones missing are the ones that went down with his ship in the Falklands war.
ReplyDeleteJane x
Hello Jane.....What a wonderful tribute to your relationship.
DeleteTo come across a bundle of hand-written letters like that must have been interesting, potentially quite emotional - but what a beautiful momento, Meggie.
ReplyDeleteI well remember my teenage days when the postman would pop a letter through the front door and it would be from a young man I was in love with at the time...be still my beating heart! I practically wore those letters out over the three years I knew him, I read them all so often.
Hello Elaine...the seriousness of the day has faded, but, I'm still glad I saved the letters. An e-mail with no signature could be from anyone. A hand-written note is recognizable by the handwriting itself!
DeleteI threw all of them out when I met, and immediately fell in love with, George! I have no regrets on that score.
DeleteMy most cherished collection of hand-written letters are those which my mother wrote to her sister over a long number of years. They have given me a real insight into the way she experienced her life and I feel very close to her when I read them.
What a lovely treasure.....I found some not long ago and it was like a different life back then and these were only about 25 years ago.....
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have saved some of your letters (treasures).
DeleteYou have made an excellent point! Several years ago, I did blogs on each of my four kids and how proud I was of them. I forwarded the blogs via email to them at the time, but never actually on paper. I didn't stop to consider that it makes the sentiments less real. So, while my kids may have saved the emails somewhere on their computer, it would only exist there. I agree that we have gotten away from not only the tangible but the personal touch.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments today. Well, you can still print them out for your family and mail it to them. It would make a wonderful birthday gift!
DeleteDear Meggie,
ReplyDeleteI think you have a great treasure.. You know memories are our treasure. If we forget past time, We can't live in peace in future.. (I think I wrote wrong English..:))
You save that letters, they are heritage to our grand sons and grand daughters.. These are all evidences of our history I think..
Happy weekend..:))
Hello Beck...I just knew you would like this post. I hear your thoughts from reading your blog. I know how you love your family....
DeleteI have a few letters that my mother wrote to me when I was in college. I wish I'd saved them all. They mean a lot to me now.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Hello Cheryl....Thanks for sharing your "letter" story. All I have from my mom are some greeting cards that she signed....but, at least, I do have a few words written by her.
DeleteHi Meggie! I'm glad you liked my letter post. You've probably guessed that I'm something of a horder... I keep any notes or cards that people send me nowadays in my scrapbook. Jx
ReplyDeleteHello Jan....I like the words "Protector of History", better than horder. I know I keep too much, but I don't think I will change. Thanks again for your inspiration of the post.
DeleteI have written about this a time or two myself...there is just something about a letter we can hold in our hands. I write so seldom now, that it is actually hard to write.
ReplyDeletehttp://picsandpiecing.blogspot.com/2009/03/youve-got-mail.html
and
http://picsandpiecing.blogspot.com/2011/04/record-of-our-days.html are two posts I wrote about it.
Hello Rose....It seems you and other blogging friends have written similar post. The handwriting is so personal and I can feel it when I hold the letter.
DeleteHi Meggie, I so agree with you about letter writing.I seldom do however because everyone seems to have an email address these days.I think we all get so busy these days that firing off an email seems to be much quicker.I honestly cant remember the last proper letter I wrote to anyone!
ReplyDeleteHello Anne...we are all so quilty of using e-mails, including myself. I think it would be a good idea if we all wrote, at least, one letter or note a year to someone we love.
DeleteI cherish the letters my Dad would write to me after my mother passed away. They are a history of two people who loved each other, created a family, and remained devoted until "death do us part." Letter writing is a lost art--I'm sure these will held close to your heart. XOXO
ReplyDeleteHello Susan...thank you for sharing your story with me and those who might read this comment. Beautiful photos, of your granddaughter, on your latest post.
DeleteYes why not, it's much nicer with handwriting. I have saved all postcards I got true the years. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Elna
Thanks for your comment, Elna. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one saving handwritten notes!
Delete