Even with the chicken-scratchiest scrawl, there’s something treasurable in a handwritten letter.
Isn’t that why we box some away, impossible to relegate them to trash?
I still have letters from my Jennie Arnold Edwards Y Camp days, some likely 40 years old. And remember those creased and folded notebook paper letters passed from friend to friend in class? Why would I save those?
Closing my eyes I can see their writing on the page and it’s as familiar as their faces–Mandy’s handwriting was my favorite and it suited her; full and cheerful, each letter a stroke of happy. Kimberly’s had a sophisticated, artistic flair; Lee’s slanted backwards, tell-tale mark of a left-hander; Suzanne’s, delicate and smart.
I think I tried to copy each of them, but my handwriting always looked disappointingly like…Robin’s. Penmanship must be an extension of thumbprint, as unique as the person to whom it’s attached.
And the boys…I still have those old love notes from boys. Jeff–we broke up and got back together eight times in the eight grade, Dennis who spelled like a fourth grader, Bryan who didn’t mind telling me what he thought; and my college sweetheart-turned-husband. (I liked his best. In fact, one registers as a Favorite Gift of All Time!)
I could probably identify their penmanship quicker today than picking them out of a police line-up 25 years since I’ve seen them.
My aunt’s…my sister’s…my mother-in-law’s–their letters and cards flash before my mind’s eye and I see encouragement and love; not just in the words themselves but in their intention and deliberateness of writing.
Spirit lifting. Heart filling. Soul touching.
My favorite notes and letters are from my dad, those are the ones that steal my breath. I judged his penmanship when I was younger–it was wretched!–but oh, how I cherish it now. In each letter’s stroke, he speaks from the grave; I see his face, I hear his voice, and somehow, mysteriously, I hear his heart better now than before.
This is one of my biggest disappointments–I have no cards or letters from my mother. There’s no way she could know that one day her daughter would crave her voice in the written word. I settle for her signature on my report cards–first grade through second quarter of third grade. Third quarter my father’s signature replaced hers.
I can still touch her by tracing her name with my index finger.
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In an age of technology and instant communication, emails, texts and instant messaging replace letters, cards and phone calls. There’s something lovely lost amidst all the conveniences.
I can’t feel an email between my finger tips or admire the beautiful stationery of a text. Even though you may be able to choose the font of online communication, it’s not the same as the personality and fingerprint of a friend’s handwriting style.
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I can’t help but think this longing for…this love of…the written word is rooted in the very nature of God. Certainly his fingerprints are dotted all over Creation, but he chose to lavish us with his holy, God-breathed words through Scripture. He affirmed the significance and value of the written word because of its preservation for us.
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Today would you consider writing someone you love a word of encouragement the old fashioned way? Pen and ink, envelopes and stamps, in your beautifully unique handwriting? An overdue thank you note, words to bolster your husband, a peace offering for an estranged relationship, cards for your children if you haven’t in a while (or ever!), hope-words for your Compassion child, kindness to your inlaws–whatever letter you thought of when you began reading this post!
Twenty or 30 or 40 years from now, someone might need to hear it again :).
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By Robin Dance, author of PENSIEVE, who dances happy when Real Live Letters visit her mailbox.
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Love writting to this day. Sad to see it’s not going to be a lesson in the public schools any longer.
That’s so hard for me to believe, Patty; it’s such a happy discipline….
Remember to lick the stamp and place it upside down…just cause i love ya! *wink!
Lisa!!! That made me *smile*! 🙂
i’ve been meaning to sit down and do this. at one time this was my sunday project. maybe i should pick a day and time again since it never seems to happen. it is true, in the hand is a treasure, coming in the mail is a blessing between the bills and junk mail of life becoming memories and keepsakes in time
It DOES require intention…is sure ain’t gonna happen with life screaming for you to do everything else!! Mailbox treasures, indeed :).
I cherish letters from my grandma. She loved writing letters better than picking up the phone. I wish she were still here to send me those sweet letters. And Joy, the sweet friend of my daughter who lost her life to a brain aneurysm while on a mission trip in Malaysia, would write letters all the time just because with little stickers all over the envelope. She would never, ever miss a birthday. Thank you for this reminder. I have a couple of people who will be getting a handwritten letter from me soon.
Your last sentence makes me so happy, SG :).
I love little handwritten notes. I actually post letters to my daughters just because. To remind them how special and loved they are.
Sara, you’re a good mama.
Robin,
I was just going to write something similar to this! I have saved so many letters over the years. I refuse to throw them away…..a person’s own words in their own handwriting is priceless. Thank you so much for this post today. I think you are exactly right, technology can never take the place of the “real thing”.
Dawn, How many time do we go back to an email that’s five years old??? NEVAH!! But a sweet card can makes us feel loved over and over and OVER! 🙂
Your post brought tears to my eyes because the written word is what draws me closest to the Father and it is His way of touching the deep places. I, too, have a collection of cards and letters that I read every now and then. My favorite thing to do is send cards. Recently though, I’ve stopped….thinking I didn’t have anything to say anymore. Thanks for reminding me.
Blessings over you today!
Oh, Linda–I can tell: you still have SO much more to say, to encourage, to love through your words! Don’t stop!! Even if you aren’t always thanked, those who receive ARE grateful!! (You reminded ME to express my gratitude more often when I receive a love note or card.)
I sometimes feel a lack of personal contact when it comes to technology. sometimes i need to hear a persons voice or read a handwritten note. personal connection to people is important to me. There’s warmth associated with it that seems a contrast to a coolness of technology.
Cathy, it seems the more connected we are, the less personal it can be. I much rather hug someone than receive an email :).
I loved this! I have tried to instill in my children the art of thank you note writing. I have very few vices or collections but one of the things I treasure are books people have written in when they gave them as gifts and letters/cards. The handwritten word is so powerful. I came across several notebooks of my dads old sermons…in his handwriting. I treasure those more than his photographs. Thanks for sharing this and giving me good thots. 🙂 Nice to know there are other TREASURE hunters like me!
Connie! I LOVE IT–your dad hand wrote his sermons! That IS treasure, indeed! And I’m with you; I have my kids write thank you notes (my daughter automatically does it now but the boys need some “encouragement”) because it matters to let the giver know you received it. It seems rude, otherwise :/.
Robin, you’re such a gifted writer, and you know for how long I’ve respected your work. Now, you have touched upon something that is near and dear to my heart–writing, literal pen to paper (and I love good paper and a “can’t do without” pen). Like you, I have kept and cherished many things from my own poetry when I was a kid to letters that my mom wrote her new mother in law when she was doing my dad’s tours of duty with him in the Air Force. I love the slightest stroke of a pen, and I’m crazier about the strokes of old pens with globs of ink stains on the paper. Yes, my friend, you have hit one of the targets on my heart, and I will do gladly what you have suggested. I will write someone (or two) today. I already had one person on my list. By the way, message me your addy. Just for suggesting this, I think you deserve a note. 🙂
Monica, I first read your comment on my phone, and it’s better the second time around. (plus, I needed the reminder to share my address with you!!) I can *hear* your love of the written word and can *almost* see what you’ve described in my mind (i.e. “globs of ink stains 🙂 ).
And of course, YOU have challenged me to write a few notes myself. Thank you, friend :).
when my grandfather passed away i wrote my grandmother many letters to keep her company…. little did i know she was saving them and gave them back to me, confetti and all…. it was cool to see the different stationary, color of pens, and stickers i used…. haven’t taken the time to reread my life shared with her in letters. always wrote about the corky happy stuff to lift her days….
That’s absolutely precious.
I so agree. Although I use a variety of social mediums to stay in contact with those far and near, I love sending hand-written letters as much as I love receiving them. Many times over I have pulled out letters/cards to re-read days, months or even years later.
Thank you for sharing…
Thanks, Stefanie!! 🙂
I use to volunteer with a man who was a contractor, his speciality was bank vaults. He said what he found the most in unclaimed safe deposit boxes was love letters. Just goes to show what people value most.
Wow, Sandra; that’s telling.
i love this, Robin. I can’t throw the writing out either… I have a note scribbled on scrap paper in a frame from dad that says, “Love you. Will be talking to you soon. Love Dad.” i remember that he sent it with some car insurance papers when I was in college and i just couldn’t throw away his script. I’m so grateful now that I didn’t. I am blessed to have letters that say exactly how he feels about me. I have them from my mom, too, and i know now how much they will mean someday.
your kids are going to be so lucky… your daughter is going to get texts and emails from you, but I have no doubt she’s going to have a shoe box of her own, filled with your love. so sweet.
Gitz, I have some notes from my dad like you described; scribble scrabble that didn’t mean much at the time, but I *knew* I needed to keep. It makes me so happy you have these, too :).
Thanks for the reminder about handwritten letters. You are so correct, I have kept way more handwritten letters than typed ones. I must remember to send more handwritten notes and letters.
Jillian, you reminded me that I don’t care for my own handwriting, but that shouldn’t matter. It’s mine, just like this face I’m stuck with. It m.e.a.n.s. something to someone I hope; or at least one day it will :).
I have a box of cards and notes in my closet that I pull out from time to time so I can read the words of so many people I love. I’ll keep those the rest of my life! So glad you encouraged us to fill the boxes of others with our words too!
Holley, while I was out of town the other day, my daughter made an “Encouragement Wall” on a cabinet in my craft room; it’s full of fairly recent letters/notes from friends/family. I love it (the thought behind it and the actual words of encouragement) :). You’re wise to keep this handy ’cause sometimes you just NEED a lift like that! 🙂
What a beautiful post, and close to my heart as well. I LOVE the wriiten word…God’s word and others! My dad sent me notes and cards all the time, and I do have them in a box. He used to always send my daughter a note card, with little stick-figure drawings and a piece of gum. I have some of them too. I miss that sooo much. There are some days when I see a note-size card in the mail that my heart skips a beat, even though he has been gone 7 years now. I love to pull out the notes and read them, and look at the handwriting too. I love the idea of writing to someone on a certain day….thnak you for encouraging me to encourage others!
I cry as I’m “writing” this…My Daddy said long ago…”I can’t re-read phone calls…” I was terrible at writing but would splurge and call. Mostly ’cause I so loved hearing his voice, his laughter. The few letters he wrote me, you can be assured, are in my “special” box. I struggle today with handwritten letters, but I can type up a newsy note pretty quick and add my “scribbles” at the bottom and feel pretty good about killing two birds with one stone. It’s all about time. Writing. Typing. Encouraging. But it’s worth it!
I have letters in boxes from the days of old… but I also have several printed out emails from my husband from back when we were dating. I cherish them all.
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