A guest post from the wonderful Debbie...
Thank you for the invitation to be a guest on your blog.
I can’t remember when I wasn’t writing a letter or waiting on the postman. I have always had pen pals, as far back as I can remember, and have enjoyed writing snail mail for people across the globe.
When I moved from the Midwestern state of Wisconsin, 2000 + miles from my family, to the Pacific Northwest, I started writing letters and postcards to stay in touch with family and friends, too. I try to find just the right card or words to make someone’s day both in family letters and penpals.
Wouldn’t you agree that words have so much power?
My wise and wonderful mother, who was so amazing, said that I should never miss an opportunity to tell people what was unique and wondrous about them, or that they have given my life purpose, balance or joy. My father, an educator and counselor, always says, that life is a journey – in the end, it will matter who and what you take with you, and equally, who and what you leave behind. In the interim, you should be prepared for roadblocks, U-turns, side street, gravel roads, and paved roadways. What and who you have with you in the end will define you.
It is interesting to think of life as a journey, isn’t it?
Sociologists say that people don’t say what is on their hearts until a door is closing. You can live next to a neighbor for 20 years, and it isn’t until they are ready to move away, that you say what is on your heart. You work with someone for several years and when you find out they are leaving, you talk about what made working with them special. You can spend a whole week on vacation with your sister, and not until you are ready to board the plane, do you say what her influence has meant to you. You can raise a child, and when that child marries, goes away to school or moves out on their own, you worry that you have not talked about how wonderful and how hard it can be.
So ….. just before I turned 50 years old, I wrote 50 gratitude letters to people who had influenced my life, and a few apology letters as well. It sounded like such a wonderful project until I actually started to put the words on paper. In addition to English, I had 7 years of French and 3 years of college Spanish – and still, sometimes there are not words to express what people mean to you. The emotions, pain and gratitude run so deep. Although it turned out to be a three year project, a wonderful thing came out of it, something I didn’t expect – people answered me with snail mail!
Those who never write letters took a moment from their daily routine to tell me something that they had never told me about our relationship. It was overwhelming emotionally at first. In addition, people didn’t remember the things that I have been feeling guilty about all these years and have been carrying around. Instead, they shared the things about how our lives had intersected that were meaningful to them.
One of my favorite things to do is write a series or cards with a theme or set of quotes. With coffee cup images, or a set of different cards with a theme, mailed one by one. I also love to write a letter each day for 18 days, when a niece or nephew turns 18 years old. In April, I always join the 30 letters in 30 days fun. This year I wrote 30 letters to one person, each letter describing what she means to the world and what her friendship with me has meant for my life. The funny thing is, although she too is a snail mailer, she only lives about 15 miles from me.
People don’t tell the loves of their lives what they appreciate, respect and enjoy about them, or how they have affected their journey. Snail mail gives you a chance to say what needs to be said and to find ways to bring joy to the lives of others – which comes back to you in wonderful ways.
Such inspiring words from a lovely lady
Thankyou
E
