Thank You Notes

Sending hand-written missives with the specific motive of expressing appreciation for receiving a gift was a rule strictly adhered to by my parents. No excuses, no whining, no reason was ever acceptable in veering from that unquestionable, permanent, carved-in-stone social grace. One received thus one wrote.

In this day and age of electronic communication, and though a 'dinosaur' I well may be, I find myself still a happy proponent of our postal system. And to that end I still send hand-written letters and thank you notes. Plan to until the day I die. Even when my handwriting is absolutely atrocious and totally illegible. Even when no one could ever possibly read or interpret the scribble, I'll forever share my heartfelt appreciation via pen, paper and the post.

This household received a thank you from a relative about a week ago. Thanking us for the two holiday presents we sent, this cousin admonished me by asking a question smack dab in the middle of her note: "J, have you stopped writing letters? I miss your newsy notes..." The answer to her inquiry, No, I haven't. I obviously let other tasks in the last few months snare more attention than I should have, leaving no time for my usual (and obviously expected) 'newsy notes'.

When I read her message the first time I was slightly taken aback. But upon further contemplation I accepted her words as a compliment. How nice to know that taking the time to personally craft something is missed when you don't!

So write a letter....or two. And when you receive one in return you'll be the one who gets to sip a cup of hot tea while sharing a peek into the life and times of someone special to you.

Atrocious handwriting or not.

Writing Letters

I don't care how addictive the lure of email and Facebook and texting is, nothing can replace seeing a real honest-to-goodness letter in your mailbox.

Admit it. Amid all this electronic community we now inhabit, there is nothing nicer than to be the recipient of a handwritten missive, knowing it took a commitment of time, a personal choice and a feel-good emotion on the part of the writer who understood you would share that same feeling as you read what was being shared on each page.

I'm issuing a friendly challenge:Sit down TODAY and write to someone who has touched your life. Or someone you miss. Or someone you have been thinking about but just haven't taken the time to contact. Or a family member you haven't heard from lately. Simply jot a friendly note ~ Or ~ write page after page after page. Whatever it takes, whatever feels good to reach out and put a smile on a face that will appreciate being remembered.