# 35 - The Art of Letter-Writing

The art of letter-writing is practically extinct - and I'm just as guilty as anyone.

I decided it would be fun to write letters to my kids and send them every few days over the course of our trip. So I was at Wal-Mart the other day, shopping for stationary.

I was amazed to find that they don't sell any stationary. None. Seriously. That is a really sad sign that nobody writes letters anymore.

I have a book called "Letters" by Marjorie Pay Hinckley. It contains a lot of the letters she wrote to her husband when he was away, and to other people throughout the years. As I read them, I was thinking how sad it is that everything is done through e-mail these days.

I'd like to see a raise of hands by those who love to get letters in the mail. Every time I go to the mailbox, I have this moment of anticipation. What's going to be in there? Maybe a package. Maybe a letter. Maybe a card. 99.9% of the time, all that is in there is junk mail and bills. Sad.

Now, let's see a raise of hands of those who love to write letters and send them in the mail. Particularly, hand-written letters. Hmmmmm... That's what I thought.

So, I've decided to make a goal to write at least one letter to as many of my friends and loved ones as I can. Please don't feel bad if you don't get one, as I might miss some of you, or fail to meet my goal. In fact, if anyone who is reading this is disappointed when they don't get a letter in the mail, go ahead and send me one. I'll be sure and return the favor. :)

Anyone else up to the challenge? If you can commit to writing at least one hand-written note to at least one person, leave a note in my comments. I'd love to start a revolution. ;)

4 comments:

  1. I am totally there! I also feel so sad that letter writing is extinct basically. There's just nothing like getting a letter and seeing the person's handwriting - it just seems so personal. I remember I absolutely loved it when my brother was in basic training for the army and he couldn't call, so we had to communicate through letters. I always was so excited to see his letter in the mail. It was the best!

    So, I'm going to write a letter this week (hopefully) to an old primary teacher that really made an impact on me and I'm going to send it anonymously. I thought about it earlier today and now I just took your post as a sign.

    Whoa - long post. Sorry! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you ever read my Annie 101 list...I wrote that I love snail mail . To think someone took the time to write and send it in the mail really means a lot! I agree with you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am a terrible letter writer. There are only two people I actually write real letters to - my grandmother and my great aunt. And only because they have no email and don't really talk on the phone. It's the only way to communicate with them!

    I am so bad at writing letters, that when someone gives me a gift, I always tell them I'm terrible at sending thank you cards and thank them right then and there.

    Yeah, I know. I'm a terrible example to my kids. Someday they are going to ask, Thank you cards? What's that?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am a terrible letter writer. When I was a teenager I wrote upwards of 50 letters every couple of weeks. It seems, once I hit college, my letter writing days waned and disappeared. I was so happy when email was invented. All I had to do was write my thoughts and wishes in an email and hit send. There's no way that email can get lost in my room, or on my desk or wherever else I've lost letters over the years that were never sent.

    So now I try to make my emails pretty, if I can. Sigh . . . I know, it seriously falls short. Oh well, that's just who I am.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment! Come back soon! :o)