Snail Mail. That is the title of the art piece above and while working on this art piece I started thinking about how important it can be to send a handwritten letter to someone, especially one that says ‘thank you’.
We no longer live in the age of letter writing and it is fast becoming a lost art. People send texts or emails or make a quick call but we really don’t write letters to each other anymore. I am as guilty of this crime as anyone else. And it’s sad.
Back in the 90’s I wrote letters to my Dad who was living in Pincher Creek, Canada. We exchanged letters almost every other week and now that he is gone I am so grateful for those written words, his written words that I can still hold in my hands. They are a visual reminder of our relationship, they carry the tone and cadence of our conversations, and they are treasures to me. They hold our affection for each other and demonstrate the growth of our sometimes troubled alliance. I am grateful that he came from that era of letter writing and enjoyed expressing himself through those letters.
My older brother Tim was often a troubled soul and he did 6 years in prison for drug related crimes. It was heartbreaking for me but he was literally my captive audience in terms of letter writing. We wrote back and forth over those 6 years and I have saved those exchanges. His letters were often filled with anger and frustration, feelings of persecution, resentment, and also hope for something better. He lamented the life he once thought he would have, felt great sorrow for never having married or had children. I was his sounding board, his voice of encouragement over those six years, often sending him funny comics or jokes that I found. I am not sure if any of my words carried any weight in keeping him grounded during his time in prison but they helped to ground me. Tim is now gone too, his death affected me greatly but I have his written words that reflect his broken soul and his struggles to find a peace that alluded him his whole life. There is something comforting in re-reading them as it reconnects me to a much loved brother that was not mine to save. But that was long ago and I haven’t really written a true letter or note card in many years.
My friend Julie is very much alive and she sends cards out to her family and friends all the time, for every holiday, for every occasion. I want to be more like her but continue to find that the ease of texting or emailing or calling lures me from the pen and paper. I love getting her cards because they are the only thing in the mail box that isn’t shaped like a bill or a circular mailer. They aren’t junk. They are Julie. She has an address book that is filled with names and addresses of all her friends and since she and I have been friends since high school I imagine she has crossed out my address over and over and re-written it again and again as I moved around throughout the years. She understands the importance of writing even a quick note and mailing it off for someone to find in their mail box . A jewel from Julie. Every card she has ever sent me is in a special box that holds all the letters, cards, and notes that I have ever received from friends and family. I imagine myself as an old shut-in someday in the far future, just sitting by a warm fire with this box, pulling out all these words from my life and letting them cover me like a memory filled blanket. I am grateful for every word mailed to me. Julie’s words will still be there just as they were the day I opened her cards. And they will be there long after she and I are gone.
I am not too old to change. This year I intend to start writing note cards again and sending them to the people who are still here to receive them. Remembering to say thank you, to actually write the words to friends, family, clients, and perhaps even the person that delivers these letters, seems to be a way to truly feel gratitude. Technology is truly a blessing at times. Being able to quickly say thanks or hello can be a lifesaver in a busy, buzzing world. But there is and never will be anything as special as picking up your mail to find your name handwritten on the front of an envelope with a return address from someone you love. The excitement of opening that envelope is so overwhelming that you can hardly wait to get back to your car or in your door to break it open and read the words that another person has taken the time to write FOR YOU and TO YOU.
The art of writing letters is hopefully not on its death bed. Especially in terms of saying thank you to the people who are woven into our lives either through relation or through work. And when we say thank you to our clients with a handwritten note it states that we had time for them in that moment and we didn’t just think if them and then type out a quick email. We thought of them and valued them enough to take the time to put pen to paper, to lick an envelope, to carefully place a stamp, and to mail away to them our gratitude.
Now, where did I put my pen . . .
A Blue Cape Cod 