Write Me A Letter - By Hand

Carve the words

Letter writing has dwindled drastically from the Stage Coach days. Slowly technology has developed into mass communication. All good and appreciated, but somewhere along the way we lost the art of writing letters and grace of speech. It's much quicker to email or text, but the cutesy abbreviations used in texting has got me wondering if living thought might be dying. Developing a vocabulary is important. The more words you have in your brain the more words you have to carve out a meaningful conversation. That doesn’t mean the use of high flown language or five-dollar words. It means being able to simply and diplomatically convey a message.

A Letter Received

Writing a letter or note by hand is a ''word'' gift. A package of thoughts. It can make a person love or hate, laugh or cry. The art lies in your choice of words. I was a small girl the first time I saw the effects of a letter received.

Mama was standing at the screen door while my sister ran down a narrow dusty path to our rural mail box. She thumbed through it and held a letter high, shaking it in the air. Mama had a joyful look on her face and called all the kids in. She had finally received the letter from our brother in Okinawa. We crowded around and looked on as she read it, excited, as if it were a new born baby. During the day, I saw her go back to it and read it again and again. She smiled all day.

A Note

The second time I felt the effects of a written word, was from a boy in the 7^th grade. Our class went on a Halloween hay ride and I dangled my feet off the back of the wagon with him. Next day he wrote me a note and passed it to me in the hall.

"Hi. I had so much fun with you on the hay ride last night. Are you going to the pumpkin fest this weekend? If you do, would you go on the boat ride with me? I hope you wash your hair in that same shampoo that you wore last night. It smelled so good. See ya’ at gym. Answer then.

Of course I went! I washed my hair in Prell shampoo, and wore it hanging loose around my shoulders and slung it in his face all night. That boy grew up to be a politician. He learned early how to shovel shampoo to the public.

Lifelong Habit

So started my habit of note penning. I write notes to children. I write notes of encouragement to students. Letters of cheer always, nothing negative...ever. And it's O.K. to touch a little dab of Eau de toilette on the envelop. There is some beautiful correspondence stationery on the market. American Stationery has been in business for 90 years. Check them out at americanstationery.com. Order a catalog and you can see many styles and colors to choose from. It makes a great gift.

Just last week my sister called and said she was pouring through her husband’s office, (who had passed away) and found a letter I wrote him in 1980. It was in a box with his important papers. I barely remember it, but it pleased me that he considered it valuable enough to keep. And who knows, maybe he did like mama. Maybe he went back to read it again and again.

Below, a delightful song: "I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter."

Hello Fellow Hubbers,

There are commercial cards for every occasion and they are pretty, funny and well written. However, after it is read, it will probably get shuffled around for a while, then end up in a drawer that eventually gets emptied out, not like a hand written note with a wrong spelled word or misplaced punctuation. You see, your personal touch warms a person's heart and they will hold it in their hands a little while longer and smell it, pondering your relationship. I just received a thank you card from a very dear friend who has Cerebral Palsy. It is hardly legible. I keep it displayed on my Baker's Rack in the kitchen. I touch it once in a while. It's between me an God that I'm sending a belssing to her.

The next time you shuffle through your mail and see an envelop written by hand, open it immediately. It might be a love letter. Hopefully not a Dear John letter. Possible a naughty letter. So be careful what you write. A word written is in concrete.

Love, Ann..... xoxo