I write letters infrequently. During the depths of pandemic shutdowns, however, I found that writing letters was a good way to keep in touch with friends. Letters were a tangible reminder of friendship and affection that other virtual forms of interaction could not rival. Letter-writing, as you said, allows for a more thoughtful, slow-paced communication that revealed a side of my pen pals that did not come through even in face-to-face conversation.
During the pandemic there was ample time for sharing thoughts via snail mail. Now that life is mostly back to normal, I'm finding it hard to take that time. A letter-writing challenge sounds like just the thing to restart the habit!
This post inspired me to sit down and write a letter to my best friend. It was more of a grounding act than I expected, and I’m glad for the opportunity it allowed to share some moments with my friend.
I've been pen pals with for several years with my uncle who is in prison. For the longest time, mailed letters (and black and white photocopies of pictures) were the only form of written communication allowed. We periodically sent each other snail mail over the course of time, and I loved the way it slowed me down — forcing me to consider my thoughts carefully, and construct sentences deliberately. For him, having been incarcerated for so many years, this was his normal! It occurred to me that what was a deliberate practice for me was the only way he knew, not having been exposed to the torrent that is internet and social media communication. Only in the last few years has some new technology developed (an email system, of sorts) to allow for electronic communication. We've taken advantage of it, and it is certainly helpful in some sense. However, your post reminded me I still have a suppressed itch to get back to those handwritten letters. Writing and receiving them have been enormously memorable and meaningful for us both.
I'm excited that you're focusing on letter writing. I recently purchased a lovely set of blank notecards from a National Trust site here in the UK, and I've needed some inspiration to use them.
Separately, my 3-yr-old girl and I have gotten into hand-crafted Valentines and thank-you cards this year. We bought some card paper, markers/pens, and basic stickers and made Valentines for her friends & mine, and for our neighbours (the latter we delivered with some heart cookies). It's a fun tradition and a lovely excuse to claim Valentines Day as an occasion to show small acts of love more broadly to all those whom God has given us. And the more general thank-you cards are ones that she creates and then I write in.
Also this past year, I've looked into resources to improve my handwriting because, similar to you, I used to receive regular cards from my grandmother in her beautiful script. She stopped writing about 6 years ago or so, due to failing strength and growing dementia, and then she passed away this past March. I saved many of her cards, and I like the idea of continuing her tradition. There is something special and meaningful about physical artifacts of communication.
Finally, I began following Lindsey at The Postmans Knock https://thepostmansknock.com (where I found some free "improve your handwriting" worksheets); she has lovely ideas for making "mail art" and also offers courses in handwriting and calligraphy. I haven't taken one, but I love her mail art ideas. They range from simple to more complex.
Anyway, happy writing, all, and thanks for the prompt, Gracy.
Thank you for sharing, Christa! My daughters and I also love making handmade Valentines and sharing them with others (it's a tradition my mom started with me when I was a child). It's sweet to hear of the treasured letter you have from your grandmother. What a precious keepsake. I love the idea of making cookies to share with neighbors, as well. And thank you so much for the link to The Postmans Knock! I'm excited to share it with other readers.
I write letters to my family and a few friends. When I read the newspaper, I will read something that will remind me of a person or a conversation that we once had and include the clipping as well as a few additional tidbits of news or an inquiry into what is happening to them. The odd dynamic of our modern world is that while the people I write to LOVE receiving these letters, they respond to me electronically. I wonder sometimes if huge parts of our population have forgotten how to address an envelope and possess stamps to put on envelopes.
In September 2021, the subscription to my local newspaper came due and I decided not to renew for two reasons. First, because of a vocation change and potential financial challenges. And, second, and more importantly, because the local newspaper had been bought out by a company that gutted the local news department and we no longer had much local news to report in the local newspaper. By January 2022, I realized that I had not written to my sister in quite a long time and it was because I did not have the newspaper clippings to share with her. Her response was to gift me with a year's subscription to a national newspaper that I really wanted to read (WSJ). Now, she receives a weekly handwritten letter and a clipping or two from me. And, others are hearing from me more often too.
I look forward to the focus on letter writing and learning what Gracy and all of her readers have to share.
Jeff, this is a lovely idea. I like the idea of sharing news and stories that matter at a slower (and more personalized) pace. I'm sorry to hear about your local newspaper, though—it seems that this is a common story, unfortunately. I hope to hear more of your thoughts and advice on letter writing in the weeks to come!
My mother instilled letter-writing into me early. She encouraged me to always handwrite Thank You notes, birthday cards with personal touches, "thinking of you" notes, and even creating my own cards from magazine clippings and paper. I still do it and have taught my kids (13, 15) to always say Thank You with a handwritten note. I realize it may seem like an old-fashioned obligation, but really, how many exciting things do we get in the mail anymore, aside from bills (and my lovely quarterly issue of Plough!)? Not much. It's fun to get a birthday card from someone, and they understand that since they live very far away from any extended family.
We often hear from much older relatives how much their notes mean to them; perhaps its nice to see people communicating in a way they were much more used to.
I've had penpals from Egypt, Malaysia, and now, my home state as one of my close friends from college recently got into letter-writing and sends beautifully hand-illustrated cards and envelopes, too. I told her I'd write her back and now I get to enjoy letter writing with someone else. Even though we talk to each other near-daily via text, it's little daily wonderings that we wouldn't think to share in a text, that we write about in our letters.
As for your news--I didn't realize you had moved already! Is your program done? At any rate, glad to see another post today-what a treat!
Hurray for Plough! I feel convicted and encouraged by your words here, Sarah, because I've been horribly inconsistent at writing thank-you notes since college. It's a habit I would like to resurrect, and perhaps this month will provide an opportunity to do so. I love your thought here, too, that letter-writing encourages us to share "little daily wonderings that we wouldn't think to share in a text." I have also found that to be true. Thank you for sharing your letter-writing wisdom with us!
As to news: my program was an intensive 9-month program, and so we are already moving back to the U.S.! It's been a rather hectic time of transition, but we're so grateful for the many friends we've made, and for all the family members who are now blessing and caring for us in our season of chaos. :)
Aw, I'm glad! It sounds funny but I actually have to put "write thank you note to ___" on my to-do list, or I will forget, too. (Hence, the feeling that to some it becomes an obligation).
If you'd like letter writing inspiration, this lady on instagram showcases just the most beautiful envelopes that she paints or draws before she sends out her snail mail to friends and family. I just put on a fun strip of washi tape on the back for decoration and call it a day, but I do love looking at these beautiful pieces of art.
Thank you Sarah! I love this resource for thank you notes, and appreciate the welcome home. :) It was an intensive 10-month program, which was a blessing in many ways — but also means I need to catch up on sleep!
I wrote a letter to a friend recently that I dated 1822 and wrote as if it were 1822.
I write letters infrequently. During the depths of pandemic shutdowns, however, I found that writing letters was a good way to keep in touch with friends. Letters were a tangible reminder of friendship and affection that other virtual forms of interaction could not rival. Letter-writing, as you said, allows for a more thoughtful, slow-paced communication that revealed a side of my pen pals that did not come through even in face-to-face conversation.
During the pandemic there was ample time for sharing thoughts via snail mail. Now that life is mostly back to normal, I'm finding it hard to take that time. A letter-writing challenge sounds like just the thing to restart the habit!
This post inspired me to sit down and write a letter to my best friend. It was more of a grounding act than I expected, and I’m glad for the opportunity it allowed to share some moments with my friend.
This is wonderful, Grace! I'm so glad. Look forward to hearing more of your thoughts, hopefully, in the weeks to come.
Another lovely post, most timely as I just began reading Thomas Merton: A Life in Letters.
Thank you, Mike! What a wonderful book.
I've been pen pals with for several years with my uncle who is in prison. For the longest time, mailed letters (and black and white photocopies of pictures) were the only form of written communication allowed. We periodically sent each other snail mail over the course of time, and I loved the way it slowed me down — forcing me to consider my thoughts carefully, and construct sentences deliberately. For him, having been incarcerated for so many years, this was his normal! It occurred to me that what was a deliberate practice for me was the only way he knew, not having been exposed to the torrent that is internet and social media communication. Only in the last few years has some new technology developed (an email system, of sorts) to allow for electronic communication. We've taken advantage of it, and it is certainly helpful in some sense. However, your post reminded me I still have a suppressed itch to get back to those handwritten letters. Writing and receiving them have been enormously memorable and meaningful for us both.
This is incredible, Haley. What a blessing to him, and to you. Blessings to you both!!
I'm excited that you're focusing on letter writing. I recently purchased a lovely set of blank notecards from a National Trust site here in the UK, and I've needed some inspiration to use them.
Separately, my 3-yr-old girl and I have gotten into hand-crafted Valentines and thank-you cards this year. We bought some card paper, markers/pens, and basic stickers and made Valentines for her friends & mine, and for our neighbours (the latter we delivered with some heart cookies). It's a fun tradition and a lovely excuse to claim Valentines Day as an occasion to show small acts of love more broadly to all those whom God has given us. And the more general thank-you cards are ones that she creates and then I write in.
Also this past year, I've looked into resources to improve my handwriting because, similar to you, I used to receive regular cards from my grandmother in her beautiful script. She stopped writing about 6 years ago or so, due to failing strength and growing dementia, and then she passed away this past March. I saved many of her cards, and I like the idea of continuing her tradition. There is something special and meaningful about physical artifacts of communication.
Finally, I began following Lindsey at The Postmans Knock https://thepostmansknock.com (where I found some free "improve your handwriting" worksheets); she has lovely ideas for making "mail art" and also offers courses in handwriting and calligraphy. I haven't taken one, but I love her mail art ideas. They range from simple to more complex.
Anyway, happy writing, all, and thanks for the prompt, Gracy.
Thank you for sharing, Christa! My daughters and I also love making handmade Valentines and sharing them with others (it's a tradition my mom started with me when I was a child). It's sweet to hear of the treasured letter you have from your grandmother. What a precious keepsake. I love the idea of making cookies to share with neighbors, as well. And thank you so much for the link to The Postmans Knock! I'm excited to share it with other readers.
I write letters to my family and a few friends. When I read the newspaper, I will read something that will remind me of a person or a conversation that we once had and include the clipping as well as a few additional tidbits of news or an inquiry into what is happening to them. The odd dynamic of our modern world is that while the people I write to LOVE receiving these letters, they respond to me electronically. I wonder sometimes if huge parts of our population have forgotten how to address an envelope and possess stamps to put on envelopes.
In September 2021, the subscription to my local newspaper came due and I decided not to renew for two reasons. First, because of a vocation change and potential financial challenges. And, second, and more importantly, because the local newspaper had been bought out by a company that gutted the local news department and we no longer had much local news to report in the local newspaper. By January 2022, I realized that I had not written to my sister in quite a long time and it was because I did not have the newspaper clippings to share with her. Her response was to gift me with a year's subscription to a national newspaper that I really wanted to read (WSJ). Now, she receives a weekly handwritten letter and a clipping or two from me. And, others are hearing from me more often too.
I look forward to the focus on letter writing and learning what Gracy and all of her readers have to share.
Jeff, this is a lovely idea. I like the idea of sharing news and stories that matter at a slower (and more personalized) pace. I'm sorry to hear about your local newspaper, though—it seems that this is a common story, unfortunately. I hope to hear more of your thoughts and advice on letter writing in the weeks to come!
I look forward to the conversation.
My mother instilled letter-writing into me early. She encouraged me to always handwrite Thank You notes, birthday cards with personal touches, "thinking of you" notes, and even creating my own cards from magazine clippings and paper. I still do it and have taught my kids (13, 15) to always say Thank You with a handwritten note. I realize it may seem like an old-fashioned obligation, but really, how many exciting things do we get in the mail anymore, aside from bills (and my lovely quarterly issue of Plough!)? Not much. It's fun to get a birthday card from someone, and they understand that since they live very far away from any extended family.
We often hear from much older relatives how much their notes mean to them; perhaps its nice to see people communicating in a way they were much more used to.
I've had penpals from Egypt, Malaysia, and now, my home state as one of my close friends from college recently got into letter-writing and sends beautifully hand-illustrated cards and envelopes, too. I told her I'd write her back and now I get to enjoy letter writing with someone else. Even though we talk to each other near-daily via text, it's little daily wonderings that we wouldn't think to share in a text, that we write about in our letters.
As for your news--I didn't realize you had moved already! Is your program done? At any rate, glad to see another post today-what a treat!
Sarah
Hurray for Plough! I feel convicted and encouraged by your words here, Sarah, because I've been horribly inconsistent at writing thank-you notes since college. It's a habit I would like to resurrect, and perhaps this month will provide an opportunity to do so. I love your thought here, too, that letter-writing encourages us to share "little daily wonderings that we wouldn't think to share in a text." I have also found that to be true. Thank you for sharing your letter-writing wisdom with us!
As to news: my program was an intensive 9-month program, and so we are already moving back to the U.S.! It's been a rather hectic time of transition, but we're so grateful for the many friends we've made, and for all the family members who are now blessing and caring for us in our season of chaos. :)
Aw, I'm glad! It sounds funny but I actually have to put "write thank you note to ___" on my to-do list, or I will forget, too. (Hence, the feeling that to some it becomes an obligation).
If you'd like letter writing inspiration, this lady on instagram showcases just the most beautiful envelopes that she paints or draws before she sends out her snail mail to friends and family. I just put on a fun strip of washi tape on the back for decoration and call it a day, but I do love looking at these beautiful pieces of art.
https://www.instagram.com/naomibulger/
I didn't realize it was only 9 months... Welcome home.
Thank you Sarah! I love this resource for thank you notes, and appreciate the welcome home. :) It was an intensive 10-month program, which was a blessing in many ways — but also means I need to catch up on sleep!