a lost art

I love getting mail. It ranks right up there with cooking on my list of things I love most in the world. I'm not even kidding. If I'm having a bad day and I get mail it is suddenly a great day. There's just something about it. I think it's because someone cares enough about me to actually sit down and take some time to send me something in the mail.

Granted not all mail is great...mail also carries junk mail, bills and other not as fun stuff. But getting a letter in the mail is like hitting a gold mine for me. I get almost giddy on the inside as I sit down with my letter opener and cut open the envelope.

I have kept up a correspondence with my grandparents who live 1,500 miles away ever since I came to college. I'm not nearly as good at keeping up as I used to be, but something I've noticed over the course of these years is that it doesn't really matter what the letter says. Most of the time my grandma writes about the weather and what's happening on the ranch. Her letters are full of everyday things.

I think that's what I love about them. It's a little snippet of their life that allows me to still be involved in it in some small way.

Something else I have noticed about letters is that other people appreciate getting them as well. I can't tell you how many times I have had a person I sent a letter to tell me that they just love getting my letters in the mail.

Letter writing is so uncommon now that it actually makes me rather sad. We miss out on one of the great delights of life. E-mail and texting have taken the place of good old-fashioned letters. But one should never underestimate the power of a well written letter. I think in almost every one of Jane Austen's books there is a letter of some great importance that is exchanged.

In Pride and Prejudice, Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter addressing her reasons for rejecting his proposal of marriage. It is this letter that begins the turning of her feelings about him.

Letters are a generous giving of one's time and one's self to another through written word. I miss that in our society. That's why I try to keep the art of letter writing alive...even if I don't do as well as I would like to do.

I leave for New Zealand in 1 week!!!! I'm so excited!! Just finishing off last minute details and things that I have to have done before I leave. But now I'm gonna crash...so tired!!

Peace out yo!