Author: Aynaria

Sunday, was our God & Country celebration at my Lutheran church. For those not familiar with this event, it’s the day where we honored all those who served in the armed forces.

We still had music, performed by the Church orchestra. In addition, one of our choirs, sung a few numbers and one of our pastors preached a message that was appropriately titled, “Healing for Our Nation.”

Part of the church celebration included a Power Point presentation that featured people (living and dead) who had served within the military. It was a long presentation and many stayed afterwards just to catch a glimpse of a loved one who served. We stayed also to catch a glimpse of my father.

Guess what? My father joined us for the service. He used to serve in the U.S. Army. The BF stepped away from his Catholic church to honor my father and all the others who served.

I must say it was an emotional service… Seeing some of the older men in their military uniforms, listening to each military branches song, listening to the sermon and hearing all the following songs that were performed throughout the service.

• Grand Old Yankee Doodle Extravaganza
• The Stars and Stripes Forever
• The Star-Spangled Banner
• Armed Forces Salute
• Let There Be Peace on Earth
• God Bless America
• Washington Post March

Do you see the above picture? I made the dress.

My father, daughter and BF enjoyed the service also. My only regret is that I did not take pictures of my father. He slipped out during Communion so he could still make his church on time. Their service starts at 10:00 a.m. and ours began at 9:00 a.m.

Since the BF and I are now exchanging old fashioned hand written letters, I really need to search for an appropriate box for storage, right?

A quick search online has shown me that there indeed is a market for “love letter boxes.” However, I think I’ll be making my own. I do believe it’ll make it a bit more personal, don’t you?

Last evening,  the BF came by for a visit and gifted me with my first handwritten letter (after we’ve made the commitment to writing each other) and although it wasn’t mailed to me, I’ll take it. He asked me not to open the letter until I went to bed; however, I could not wait that long and I opened it right after he left. I did promise, that next time I’d be good and listen to his “letter request,” regardless of how silly I might think it sounds.

I’ve already read and reread his letter about three or four times. The other card that I have received from him (in February) has a permanent spot on my nightstand. The only other thing on my nightstand is my Holy Bible. You know something, he hasn’t received any of my letters yet? I mailed mine… I hope he receives at least one today.

This coming weekend, I’ll work on my boxes to store my love letters. I say “boxes” because I’ll be making another to hold the letters I receive from my daughter. I do believe she’s going to make one to hold the ones she receives from me. Of course, I’ll post pictures of the finished boxes. By the time they’re completed, I do hope that a few more letters have settled into their new home.

I promise the next few posts won’t be as sappy. 😉

 

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

Well… I am posting a few Father’s Day photos, one day later.

As I mentioned in yesterdays post, my BF and his son came by for dinner at my parents house.

My parents really enjoyed getting to know his son.