Written by It’s probably not surprising that I’m the kind of girl who saves cards and letters.
I mean, with my book and photo addiction, it sort of makes sense that I would also be committed to saving all sorts of handwritten correspondence. And as I continued sifting through my photographs, I came across one of my boxes filled with all sorts of things that have been mailed to me over the years.
I’ve got Christmas photo cards and letters…
Letters from friends…
Letters from family…
Birthday cards…
Graduation cards…
Call me crazy, but I just can’t get rid of any of them. See, to me, these are works of art, pieces of history, my history. At different times in my life, people took the time to sit down and put their thoughts on paper, tuck them into an envelope, and send them to me. In today’s world of email and texting and social networks, good old handwritten letters are a dying art form, and I will do what I can do preserve them, even if my husband rolls his eyes and asks me why the heck I’m wasting space saving it all.
What can I say? I’m addicted to words, and I’m proud. 🙂
And just looking through all of these old cards and letters again tonight made me seriously nostalgic for the good old days when I used to sit down with a pen and paper and write letters, and get so excited when I found one in the mail. So, I’ve decided I’m going to challenge myself to write one letter a week to someone I care about. It might be someone I’ve been thinking about. It might be someone I haven’t talked to in ages. It might be someone I think could use a little pick-me-up. Heck, it might even be just a name I draw randomly out of a hat. I’m already looking forward to the challenge because, for all the convenience of things like email and texting, there’s nothing quite like opening a mailbox and seeing a letter that’s been thoughtfully written just for you.
So, get out there, people, and start writing.
Lori Romano 
I always feel guilty throwing away pictures of people — especially those Christmas pictures. It’s as if I am intentionally running them down with my card. But I am not organized enough to put them in a box … I just stick them somewhere. Those poor kids are probably all suffocating!
Haha! I never even thought of it that way. Now that I’m getting them all organized in the photo boxes, the plan is to rotate them directly from the refrigerator to the box when next year’s crop of photos arrives. We’ll see how it goes. 🙂
I think writing to people is a great idea. It’s something I’m lazy about. I only know a few people who still do it. But that doesn’t mean I can’t send other people letters! They can’t stop me! Thanks for the great idea!
Woohoo! I’m starting a trend! 🙂 Letters are just so much fun, and I have a feeling if you start sending some out, you’ll start getting some back in return. 🙂
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your challenge. I think the world needs more snail mail and less “social networking.” I like to use Facebook for real writing opportunities. When someone says on FB they experience a death in the family, I send a REAL card (instead of a lame “dislike” comment). I may even issue this challenge on MY blog. Thanks for this.
The world definitely needs more snail mail! I hope you’ll take up the challenge yourself! Keep writing!