The Lost Art of Letter Writing

Well, I did it. I finally finished our "Christmas" cards and mailed them out yesterday. They actually didn't have anything to do with Christmas. They were "Change of Address" cards. But I wanted to send them out since I didn't crank them out last year, and I was afraid that some of you may cross me off of your mailing list since I am such a slacker.

I do LOVE getting Christmas cards. Love it. I love seeing the family pictures of your new babies and how your kids have changed in just a year. And I love to see how my friends never age! Have you noticed that? Or is it just me. We don't age!!! It's UNBELIEVABLE!! Or maybe I am in denial.

Either way! You all look great!

Well, while I was getting a cramp in my right hand from addressing a million envelopes, I got to thinking. I love getting mail. Not email. Not text messaging. Good old fashioned Pony Express MAIL. And the only time we get REAL MAIL is usually at Christmas time. But if I go to the mailbox any other month of the year and see that someone has taken the time to hand write me a letter, find my mailing address, put a postage stamp on it, walk it to the mailbox...then I must mean something to them. I must be special.

Now that there is email, texting, facebook, blogging, and whatever else there may be out there that I am not familiar with yet, you would think that the doors of communication are wide open. People may know what you are doing at any given moment, but do they really know how you feel about them? Do they really know how special they are to you? Just think about the last time you got a letter in the mail and how that made you feel.

My daughter, Katheryn, is the BEST at writing letters. They are never long, but they are sweet and thoughtful. And when she receives a response letter, the joy that is on her face is priceless.

I am so, so bad and sitting down and writing letters. After the Holidays I try my best to make sure that my kids and I (and Joel) write thank you letters for the gifts we received. And I think I still have a couple to finish. So I admit that writing a letter isn't something I do a lot. But, I am going to try to do more of it.

Here is my challenge to you. Think of someone in your life who you hold dear. Maybe it is someone you see everyday, or maybe it is someone you don't get to see very much at all. Tell them how much you love them, miss them, how much they mean to you...WHATEVER! But write that person a hand written letter. Find their address. Put a stamp on it. And walk it to the mail box!