The Lost art of… letter writing

I would be the first one to incite a riot if anyone ever attempted to take away the internet and/or cell phones. But while I’m a big proponent of technology, I still believe that because of it we have lost some things that we should try to reclaim, so to that end I bring you my new series, “The lost art of….”

I recently had the opportunity to go through some boxes I had in storage where I found a big white binder.  In it were a hundred or more letters, each in a sheet protector.  They are letters I received from friends and family from about 1992 to 1999. 

I sat there and read through a few of them and paged through the others, all the while smiling at the memories they brought back.  It wasn’t just the contents of the letter that brought back memories, but recalling how giddy I felt at going to the mailbox and receiving something so personal.  Not a bill, not some marketing campaign, but a real letter from someone who took the time to sit and write.

Unfortunately, in my life, as I would venture a guess in most people’s lives, letters turned into note cards, note cards turned into emails and for me; emails turned into Facebook.

I’m realistic enough to admit here and now that I won’t leave Facebook to turn back into a life of letter writing, but I am challenging myself to write one letter a month to friends and family just so they can hold a memory in their hands too. 

I challenge you to write a letter too. Choose someone who may be having a difficult time right now, your letter is bound to bring a smile to their face.