I’m in my eighth decade of life, and I’ve come to realize that there’s a week or a day to commemorate just about everything. When I worked in a long-term care association, there was Nursing Home and Nurse’s Month in May. As a folk music DJ, I’m happy that we still celebrate National Radio Day, even though rumor has it that the popularity of radio is waning. I have always loved National Avian Veterinary Day (i.e., bird veterinarian day).
I was happy to learn about National Write a Letter Appreciate Week.
The fact is, since postage stamps were two cents to send a letter, I have always loved to send–and receive–cards and letters.
I grew up in the Boston area. I wrote often to my grandmother and aunt in southwestern Virginia. My cousin, who was exactly ten years older than me, also lived there. She had a horse, and, when I was young, I was so horse crazy, it wasn’t funny. I read all kinds of books about horses and wrote to my cousin Connie about all the things I had learned. We only visited our southern relatives once a year–the last two weeks in July, when my mother had her vacation time from work–so it was important to me to show them how much I loved them. And, at that time, it was way too expensive to make phone calls (plus, there were party lines, and we didn’t want people to listen in to our calls, anyway).
I would ask my mother for a stamp, then I would sit down and carefully let the selected relative know what was happening in our little town of Weymouth, Massachusetts, seal the envelope, walk to the mailbox, and put the letter inside.
What a thrill that was.
And still is.
Of course, this was prior to the Internet, email, social media, and the twenty-four-hour news on television. At the time when I began to write letters, Eisenhower was president, John F. Kennedy was preparing to run, and I was also just beginning to read newspapers to learn about politics.
My, how things have changed.
Now, people use email and social media to communicate. I confess that I use those venues as well. But I still look forward to receiving a card or a letter, something I can hold in my hand, and know that the person on the other side of that communication took the time to write something to me, get a stamp, and put it into the mailbox.
Right now, my cousin in Massachusetts is fighting a rare form of cancer. She’s in her early sixties, and is being treated at a world-class cancer center. I know all of her friends and relatives keep calling and texting her. She’s been taken off chemotherapy and clinical trials. She has to decide with her physicians what the next step is. She’s really tired all the time. She’s a tiny woman–all of four-feet, eleven-inches tall–and someone who makes me laugh all the time.
I never know when a good time is to call her. I don’t want to wake her up from a nap. I would love to get in my little Subaru and drive four hours to see her. However, I don’t want to intrude. My solution has been to send her a card every week. I look for humorous cards in various stores. Her situation is serious, so I don’t want the cards to be too off-the-wall. It gives me a thrill, just when I had newly learned to read and write and stamps cost two cents instead of today’s sixty-nine-cents, when I find just the right sentiment, write her a little note inside, seal the envelope, add the stamp, and put it into the mailbox. Every week.
I hope she likes the cards as much as I love sending them. Even when it’s not “Write A Letter Appreciation Week.”
Hi, Wanda. What a beautiful, thoughtful way to show your cousin that you care about her, especially during this time of her life. It’s funny you mention that you love writing and receiving letters. When I was a teenager, I had pen pals from other states and countries who I loved writing to, and like you, I loved pulling letters from my mailbox from them. When I was sixteen, my first boyfriend (who was also sixteen) would write me a letter each morning before we headed off to school (we did not attend the same school). He did this because he knew how much I loved receiving letters. One morning, he put a letter to me in his mailbox then ran back into his house to get dressed. When he came out, it was pouring rain so he checked the mailbox and found that my letter had gotten wet. He took the letter and put it in the oven to dry. When I received it, it was crispy and brown. I loved that letter. Today, at my age, I still have that huge tin can filled with all those letters. The one that was dried in the oven is my favorite. My husband looks at the can that sits in a corner at the top of one of my closets, and laughs. He says “I wished I could have written you letters when you were 16, but I do hope you have enjoyed all the ones I’ve written to you since we met.” I have. All of those are my favorites. I also love receiving postcards from all over the world. John Fioravanti always sends me postcards from the many places they travel to, and I appreciate those. Whenever any of my friends travel, I always get a coffee mug when they return, and I get a postcard in the mail. I collect both.
Enjoy your daily blogging this month. I think it’ll be filled with surprises!
Nonnie Jules
nonniewrites.wordpress.com
Thanks for this comment. When my husband was in Vietnam (and not my husband, nor were we dating or “seeing each other”), he and I wrote to one another constantly. I was working in a job where I didn’t have much work to do, so I spent time writing to him. He was a conscientious objector, so they offered him three choices when he joined the Army: he could be a cook, a clerk, or a medic. Since he had a college degree, he chose medic. His draft number was 20. He could have gone to Canada or gone into the National Guard, but he said that his life wasn’t worth any more than the other young men in the country who’d been drafted and/or been told it was the Army or jail. He was the only college-educated person in his unit. We still have many of those letters from back then (1970-71). When he came back to the U.S., both of us decided, based on the letters we’d exchanged, we were meant to be together. It’s been more than 50 years, so I guess our judgment, based on letters, was good. He was an English major in college, and, based on his experience as a medic, he decided to go to medical school…
Hi, Wanda,
It is a very loving gesture to send your cousin cards. I am sure she appreciates them very much.
Shalom shalom
Wanda, it looks like, even when you were a young girl, you found time to do things for others, as you do today. I smiled when I read that you grew up in the time of Eisenhower, as I did too. I remember the adults at our family gatherings arguing about “Ike” versus Adlai Stevenson. Like you, I love letters and just got one from a friend recently, which was a treat. I look forward to following you through the challenge.
Great post, Wanda! Since I was a child, post cards have fascinated me. I still love to receive them and marvel at how that little piece of cardboard can make its way across countries.
Hi, Wanda! I love how you and your husband discovered your feelings for each other through letters. You should write a book! You have the research at hand, having saved the letters all these years.
It seems our generation, who grew up, as you did, with mail being the primary means of communication with far-off friends and family, is the last holdout for sending Christmas cards. I utilize all the modern ways to connect, but I’ll still send those cards until I no longer can. And I save many of the ones we’ve received. I look forward to your daily posts!
Blessings,
Patty
I guess I should write a book, Patty! The letters are still around here. In fact, a few are on the dining room table right now. How did THAT happen!
Hi Wanda. Wonderful post today. I especially enjoyed reading how you are communicating with your cousin. When I was in Vietnam, letters from home were #1 on everyone’s mind. We didn’t need stamps to send letters home and simply wrote “FREE” where the stamp usually sits. In fact, we could tear off the side of a carton to write a short note and as long as it had an address and “FREE” written – it was delivered! Good luck in the blogging challenge! Sending a smile your way!
t
Yes, John, I remember those letters with the FREE written where the stamp should have been. I even sent my husband (who was then just a friend) cookies when he was in Vietnam. Packed them in popcorn. They actually were in pretty good shape when he got them, and they didn’t last long. His friends were happy they arrived, too.
I used to write letters when I was younger. I wrote letters home from camp and later corresponded with friends. I don’t remember the last letter I received. I kept ones I received in a box and remember looking through them years ago. I must find them again. It’s sad that letter writing has been relegated to a part of our past.
Hi Suzanne–I still do write letters sometimes. Often, I just write a note to people and insert it into my books when someone buys one. But I write thank you notes all the time. When I lost my job at the age of 59 and went on interviews to find another one, I always wrote thank you notes to the people who interviewed me. I think I finally got the job I did because of a handwritten note (with bad handwriting, I might add) I sent to the last interviewer I had.
Hi Wanda! I went into the post office yesterday and was shocked to find out how high stamps are these days. In my state of shock I forgot what she said. HaHa! I told her they were pricing themselves out of business.
I think about letter writing and how spelling had to be impeccable or you were talked about. I worry about learning capabilities today. Nobody writes anymore. Just type and whiz off in an electronic mail. Those were the days when life was cheaper.
Thank you Wanda for the walk down memory lane.
Hi Shirley–Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I still like to write thank you notes to people. I love getting mail. I love getting email, too.