letter writing {june 27, 2022}

Over the weekend, I was bombarded with news about Roe v. Wade. T had the news on all day both Saturday and Sunday. Friends supporting both sides of R v. W were so ugly with their social media comments. I did not want to start the week listening to the news and I stayed away from all social media.

Today was a beautiful day. Sunshine. Low humidity. Temps in the upper 70s. 

I did not want to start the week listening to the news and I stayed away from all social media. I sat outside on my deck, drank coffee, and wrote letters all day long. I sent sympathy cards to my four cousins. Their mom, my only aunt, died on May 13 and I wasn't able to attend her funeral. Each letter was filled with memories of Aunt Pat and what a fun, cool, laid back, loving lady she was. I wrote a letter to the family of a college friend who unexpectedly died. I wrote a letter in a Father's Day card to my son who became a first time dad on June 18. My friend texted a beautiful sunset photo to me from her lake home. I wrote a thank you note to her.

All of this writing set my world to rights.

Back in my teaching days, a few of my lessons centered on letter writing. Pen on paper, addressing an envelope letter writing. Most of my students hadn't written letters. Their method of communicating was electronic: texting, social media posting and commenting, dashing off a couple sentences in an email. Convincing them of the benefits of letter writing was like talking to a brick wall. 

Some of the reasoning I used to convince my 8th graders why writing letters was a good thing to do:

Helps Develop a Strong Sense of Accomplishment

Writing a letter is a far more thoughtful way to communicate with someone than engaging in digital communication. Letter-writing is a contemplative activity rather than a quick chore. You can type a text in a matter of seconds without paying attention. Sending letters, on the other hand, takes time and effort. The gesture of spending intentional time creating your letter will leave you with a greater sense of accomplishment than sending an email or text message.

Fosters Connections and Deepens Relationships

Letter-writing brings people closer together. The letter recipient will sincerely feel special and appreciate the thoughtful effort invested into physically writing, addressing and mailing a letter. A hand written letter sends the message to the recipient that he or she is important to you.

Creates Serendipity—and Joy—for the Sender and Receiver

When somebody receives a letter, it's a moment of serendipity. Even your own anticipation of your letter arriving in the mail for your recipient will boost your happiness. 

It helps you pause long enough to say things that matter.

Texting and email are mostly reactionary. You need information, so you reach out. Writing letters is much more deliberate. You do it to give, not to receive. You write because there’s something you need to say, not something you need to know.

It creates a wonderful surprise.

Remember when getting mail was fun? You never knew what you might find. Now, it’s mostly a pile of bills and junk. You can be the person who rescues your friends from the drudgery of modern mail! Put something fun in their mailbox and you just might make their day. 

To write a letter, all you need to do is find the right card, write your message, slap on a stamp, and remind that bored little flag on your mailbox that it was made for a purpose.