Old fashioned: Handwritten letters

About a week ago, I suggested to PJ (the boyfriend) that one thing I would love for us to do is to send each other hand written letters. I absolutely love handwritten letters. Unfortunately, I do not receive them too much… but that’s about to change!

Guess what? He liked the idea! I’m not surprised.  This is the man that still grabs my hand for no reason, gives me hugs, kisses and sends me text notes telling me that he’s thinking about me and loves me. I get that daily and I do the same for him. Will it ever get old? It’s highly doubtful, I’ve always done that sort of thing and so it’s nice to be matched with a like minded soul. In fact, early on, that’s something we expressed to each other. The happiness we felt, knowing we each enjoyed this type of courtship. When it comes to romance he’s just as “old fashioned” as me. He still believes in “proper courtship.” So yes… I suspected he would love this idea. I’m thrilled that I was right.

I suggested that we could start doing that this week. I also mentioned, that I would commit to at least one per week. That won’t be hard to do. After all, we have plenty to say to each other. We talk and send send each other texts messages every day.

I figure that I can transfer some of that digital chatter into the written form. It makes sense, right? Also, this gives me a great way to use some of my handmade cards and it will (hopefully) inspire me to create more.

Getting it right…

Another appeal to the handwritten letter (at least for me) is you normally take a bit more time when composing the letter to make sure you say exactly what’s on your mind. It carries more meaning, and memory, since hand writing is not quickly typed on some tech device. Perhaps in their haste, it doesn’t sear into our long-term memory and I wonder how much I will recall years down the road. Perhaps those digital words will be forgotten or accidentally wiped from the digital device. In the written form, there’s a physical reminder that you can hold onto and refer back to without digital interference, something I try to avoid a lot. Also, they will take a place of honor in some beloved box dedicated for that loved one. I have one for my daughter. With a handwritten letter I can always sift through them,  unless they are physically destroyed. I won’t be doing that.  You know something? I have handwritten etters from my childhood. Over the years, I’ve referred back to many of them.

On handwriting…

Last evening, I told my daughter what we were going to do. Here’s the conversation I had with my daughter about this topic.

Me: “Mr. PJ and I are going to send each other hand written letters. I suggested it to him and he thought it was a cute idea. How cool is that?”

Daughter: “Why do you want to do that, when you can just text each other?”

Me: “Because, taking the time to hand write a letter makes it a bit more special. It shows you set aside time and materials, to accomplish that and it’s something that either one of us can refer too even if we aren’t near a tech device.”

Daughter: “Oh, that makes sense!”

My daughter is no stranger to hand written letters and has created many cards for people over the years. I tell her that’s simply common courtesy. When someone does something nice for you. You should always follow up with a note. She does! People who have received her letters have always been appreciative of her efforts and have told her that hand written letters are a lost art… it’s not for us.

References

• 9 Reasons Not To Abandon The Art Of The Handwritten Letter
• The Art of Letter Writing