This is a remarkable age. It’s the age of computers, apps, tweets, hashtags, emails, text messages, memos, etc. I have fond memories of the day of the pen – there were cards, letters, and scrapbook pages, all written by hand. I am most fond of the days of the good old fashioned letter.
In elementary school we had pen pals that we would write as a class activity. Sometimes the pen pals would be in another state or even overseas. As a matter of fact, sometimes the pen pal would be sitting right next to you passing notes in class. I still have letters that I wrote to my husband while he sat at a table next to me. I would write a question and he would respond, and vice versa. This would go on for pages and pages.
What ever happened to the day of the letter? I rarely receive letters in the mail any more, and when I do, it is usually typewritten. Most communication I receive nowadays is in the form of an inbox, an email or a text message. Imagine my delight when I received a handwritten letter two Sundays ago from my Co-Pastor at church.
Before I even read the letter, I noticed and felt a few things:
- The envelope was addressed to Sister Tameka. I immediately felt warm and loved.
- She cared enough to dedicate her precious time to me. (Sure, she wrote a letter to everyone in the church, but this letter was all mine and it spoke directly to me.)
- It was handwritten. There are no others. Just this one special original letter. Anything else is just a copy.
- Her handwriting made me feel she was happy to write the letter.
But then it happened… I read the letter and my entire spirit was lifted as I read and took notice of the curve of each letter knowing that I was touching the hand of the person who wrote it. This was not just a piece of paper printed from the computer. This letter took on a life of its own.
This got me to thinking about my scrapbook pages and how most of digital albums are typed. My hybrid albums tend to have a bit of handwriting in them, but not enough. I did a Video Tidbit a while back called Handwritten. It was all about getting your handwriting into your digital albums. Sure, it is not the same as a handwritten letter, but it is more personal than typed text. Check out the video and then add your own handwritten text to your albums.
But what I really want you to do is to pay it forward. It was a wonderful feeling getting that handwritten letter when it was least expected. I would love for someone else to feel that way. I plan on grabbing a sheet of paper and writing a heartfelt letter to someone who will not expect it. Why don’t you join this movement with me?
I loved this blog and totally agree! I recently started writing my niece traditional letters. When I was walking up my driveway going through the mail and saw I got a letter from her, I literally jumped up in the air and skipped a little too. I was so excited! She really did make me feel special! Thanks Elizabeth! 🙂
Tameka,
Last year I organized the letters that my dad received and sent during his military service in 1945-46 into albums. Most were handwritten, and I was struck by touching the letters and handwriting of my great-grandmother and grandfathers, whom I never knew. It’s so much easier to size our journaling using a text box, no handwriting mishaps and spell check, so I too, find that even on traditional pages, I tend not to handwrite. I need to work on that!
Tameka
I am touched by your love of the written word and agree a handwritten letter is rare and precious. My mom passed away a few months ago and I received a condolence letter from her doctor. It was not typed on his letterhead by a staff member with his signature, nor was it just a form letter. This was actually a personal hand written letter from him on note paper. Also, the envelop was addressed by him! And this is not an old guy who grew up before computers. I feel lucky that this special man took care of my mom….a blessing.
Precious was indeed a word I was looking for to describe it, but it escaped me.