Confession: I think letters are very important...
Dear Reader,
How nice of you to drop by. I've been sitting here alone, writing a letter (what else?). Quite frankly, I am feeling a bit lonely today. Now you've come along and that problem is solved.
Would you like to know why I think that letters are so important?
Well, here are the three main reasons...
Writing letters makes me feel good - it is a way to connect with people and stay connected, and it is so much more personal than sending an email. Writing a letter, to me, is just like talking to the person I am writing to, sharing news, thoughts, or just being silly.
More importantly, writing letters makes someone else feel good. Who doesn't love finding a real letter in their mailbox? There is no doubt that receiving a letter is exciting - you can hardly wait to get inside and take your coat off. Then you sit down, letter in hand, but you want to prolong the anticipation just a wee bit longer. You look at the envelope, turning it over to see if there is anything on the back. Then you slowly open it, unfold the letter - savouring every moment - and you read it. Wasn't it fun, and didn't you feel that somehow the writer was sitting there with you?
Perhaps most important of all is that we have come to know so much of the past through historical letters. Our knowledge (the truth) of society, events and people long ago has been enriched simply because people often saved the letters they had received. So much of recorded history has been altered to favour a particular cause or "side," and today some historians even believe that historical accounts do not need be accurate. Personal letters inform and are honest.
Who knows? Maybe your letters will be read 100 years from now. (Imagine!) Maybe your letters will inform future societies about what life was really like early in the 21st century. Or, maybe it will give them a first-hand account of an important event. More personally, your great-great-grandchild may read them and come to know you, and to know his/her own self a little better. (This actually happened for me.) Isn't that exciting to think about?
I hope you've enjoyed the visit as much as I have. Please leave a comment and add your suggestions for future posts. What incident, person, or situation makes you say, "I'd like to write a letter about that!"? If you are a letter-writer, yourself, it would be great to do a blog feature of your favourite. (Send an email to: bowtell@sympatico.ca).
Felicitations,
The Letter Writer
P.S. Did you know that with a microwave oven you can bake a cake in a coffee cup?
hello from North central SK! your charming daughter has spoken so much about you (and your prairie ways). I feel like i know you.
ReplyDeleteLovely Blog!
Ohhh - I'm so excited to read your posts! I love letters. I love to write and I love to receive! I think Thank You letters are a lost art for sure...more people should write Thank You letters/notes.
ReplyDeleteLetters are my favorite thing! Always a pick me up on a lonely day, as I age I'm becoming a letter writer. For many years I wrote countless letters and reports as part of a working career and almost no letters outside those necessary ones, nowI love to get out a really nice pen and some good paper and write,write write, it is an art from. I am a cardaholic! and I love your daughter's Jenn's cards as a vehicle for my expressions. Nice to meet you.
ReplyDeleteAh, the Prairies - yes, i've been told that my prairie roots show. You can take the girl out of the prairie... right? Yes, a nice pen and good stationery are very much a part of the art form. They add a delightful "taste" to the experience on both sides. You will soon see a thank you letter here on the blog. Thanks for the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteSigning on and seeing your comments gave me an unexpected lift.