Growing up one of my favorite memories was writing letters. Writting letters inspired me to keep writing. Writing letters is still something I love to do.
In public school, we wrote to people from the other side of the world. Places I grew up dreaming of visiting. Worlds apart I couldn’t wrap my head around life being any different than Canada. I was shocked that some parts of the world didn’t have snow in winter.
I wrote my best friend who lived a few hours away. We would fold out letters into the most complicated origami we could learn. When I look back on these letters, I laugh not only at the folding but the troubles we wrote about during the simple times of life. If only we knew those weren’t even problems, just wait until you’re an adult. Brace yourself the problems will be coming.
I loved to write to my family who lived out west. I wanted to keep my family close to me so that I would never feel alone. My biggest fear was being alone. Writing letters made me feel like I was a part of all of my families life.
I would run home after school to check the mailbox. I still can’t think of a greater feeling than seeing your words as they danced across the pages and I soaked every word drawing a picture in my mind of what you were describing. Worlds apart, your writing made it feel like you were beside me. Writing back to you excited me and I couldn’t wait for the next letter. I burned through the pages, envelopes, and endless amounts of stamps. Stamps with beautiful designs. I look forward to seeing your writing more than you will ever know. I have so many letters I treasure from people who are no longer hear. On days when I miss you the most I am glad I can read the words you left me with. Thank you for always writing. Thank you for making time to make me feel loved.
I haven’t written a letter in years. The most writing I do is a quick message in a card. Nowadays everything is typed and emails come in constantly it takes away that excitement, the wait, the joy of ripping open an envelope. I still love a card with a message but even those are few and far between. It seems the way to wish anyone anything is on social media. I feel like all those sweet instant messages will disappear and we will be left to remember those days.
The days when we wrote letters to practise our cursive writting which they no longer teach in school. My son asked me did I know they used to have an old way to writting where your pen never left the paper. Way to make my writing seem so old like I was chipping the letters into stone. Oh technology how you have taken away our simple writting skills. If we ever want to write secret messages our kids cannot understand we dont need another language we just need cursive writing.
I am encouraging my son to write more letters. I will forever be writting things to him. Slipping little love notes and reminders of how much he is loved into his everday life.
I would love my son to have more pen pals. I have a wonderful friend who sends him post cards from all over the world wherever she travels off too. He is always so thrilled to get mail addressed to him. The biggest smile come across his face as he can now read the words you write. You will never know how much I appreciate that you do this!
My son is an old soul and always bonds so well with elderly people I asked him recently if he would like to write to a retirement home and make someones day and he absolutely loved this idea. Challenge excepted. Secretly I am doing it to improve his writing but as the world goes on line less people take to paper and his writing skills are his lowest grade. As it was once my lowest grade until I took to the love of writting then I came and will always be unstoppable.
We always write out things we are grateful for and I hope we can look back at these for years to come and smile at all the amazing things we have and will have in our lives. Leaving a permanent ink stain on paper to read back over the years. I hope my words bring you love and give you that same feeling I felt. I hope you son collect cards and letters like I did to treasure on your hardest days you will know how loved you are.