“YOU have mail, Sam!,” my cousin Jenny gleefully told her two-year-old daughter.
A look of surprise and excitement came upon my niece’s face. “Mail?,” Sam grinned. “For me?”
She then excitedly opened the letter together with her Mom. She was thrilled because her concept of getting a letter must have been limited to what she saw on “Blue’s Clues” (”We just got a letter, we just got a letter, we just got a letter, I wonder who it’s from!”). Having her own letter to open and read was a big moment for her!
It made me think back to the last time I received snail mail. And I don’t mean bank statements or even holiday cards with just the signature of friends affixed. I’m talking real snail mail — letters with stories and anecdotes written by hand. It has been a long time since I’ve received and written a letter.
E-mail is such a wonderful way to get in touch so easily. But while you can personalize it with fonts and colors, nothing beats the scribble of a loved one’s penmanship in blue ink on white paper. A piece of the sender is with you. Sometimes they still even carry the scent of the sender. It’s quite an intimate way of sharing a part of yourself with another.
I remember having a ton of penpals when I was a tween. I enjoyed corresponding with boys and girls my age around the world. There was no e-mail then and so correspondence was always through the post office. I loved seeing the different penmanships of my friends — some were huge and loopy, others small and hard to read, others grand and feminine. I loved guessing each penpal’s personalities through their writing. Sometimes we’d send each other coins, stickers and stationery along with our letters — what quaint gifts! And it was always a joy to come home after school and see a bunch of letters from all over the world in the mail. I’d receive ten to fifteen letters a week at most, prompting our mailman to ask, “Is there a celebrity living in this house?”
Gradually my correspondence with my penpals faded. I keep in touch with several of them through e-mail now though. While I miss the thrill of seeing their letters in the mailbox, I am happy that we get to interact more often now through the Internet. (Thank you Facebook!)
But still, I hope the art of letter writing hasn’t died. I am certain there are still those who would prefer this more personal brand of communication but have given in to the swiftness of the Internet and text messaging. I’m definitely one of those people. It sure would feel good to receive a long sincere letter. I’d definitely react the same way my two-year-old niece did.
Maybe it’s something we should revive, starting with our loved ones across the miles. Who knows? Maybe they’ll write you back.
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:31 am
I miss those long hand-written letters. You know the person took the trouble to sit and write you those lovely letters. Luckily for me, I’ve received a few from my loved ones before they passed away.
Just for this reason, I treasure every single hand-written letter I receive. Sadly, it’s been ages since I’ve received one.
The problem is also what I call the “instant generation”. Nobody wants to make an effort to relive the older values and experience the more profound joys of those wonderful old-fashioned ways.
Shame.
February 11th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
personalizing fonts and flooding of smileys in e-mails can’t beat the emotions brought by snail mails.
it was year 2006 when i last sent a snail mail to my parents abroad. but as i faced the techie world, i discovered convenience through email.
nevertheless, as long as the message was sent and received, snail or “e”, the issue still remains on the words.
February 6th, 2008 at 10:33 am
nothing beats the ‘personality’ in hand-written and snail-mailed letters.. hope we get them back.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:24 am
i really miss letter writing. i now treasure the last letter exchange i had with a friend , i still keep them to this day. nowaday’s filipino youth have not experience the joy of letter writing. they resort to texting even in courtship. not undermining texting but all they got is an unintelligently word abbreviation. filipino youth are now getting used to wrong spelling. it’s a sad flight that with modern technology we have seen the demise of the romantic letter writing.
February 3rd, 2008 at 6:58 am
I was in high school in the late 1950’s when pen pal writing was a popular hobby. I can still remember how excited I was in receiving a letter from my pen pal. However, now in my 60’s and far away from home, I welcome and enjoy e-mailing. This way I am able to connect with relatives and friends from many far away places more often and faster.