Power of the Pen

How often do you get hand written letters in the mail?

When I was in junior high, we'd slip notes into one anothers lockers and pass crumpled slips of paper in science class. By the time I was 18, my family had moved over a dozen times, so I got used to writing letters to friends in the last town we'd left behind.

Years of moving from west to east and back again yielded boxes of letters from last year's best friends. Hand written, with lots of drawings on the envelopes, doodles in the margins and distinct lapses in time. Often it would take a few days to write a letter so moods and ink color could change from one paragraph to the next.

Not that you don't already know this, but thanks to e-mailing, texting and social networking, letters are far and few between. Further, we expect immediate satisfaction when contacting others. We hit send... then refresh and expect swift replies. Anyway... herein lies the point of this blog....

I'd sent an e-mail last Monday updating my alma mater's alum board on the success of the bake sale we'd had that weekend (see my previous post). So, I'd expected an e-mail back from the director with a note of thanks. Monday.... nothing. Tuesday... zip. Wednesday.... zilch. I was starting to get annoyed.

Then Thursday rolls around and after work, I check the mail. There's an envelope addressed to me from the director. Inside, a thick, creamy note card with the College's seal. AND a LOVELY noted inside thanking me for my efforts. Not just a "thanks".... but a long, thoughtful account of the role I'd played in the success of the event.

I welled up with joy. Seriously. It was WAY better than getting an e-mail.

It's SO rare that anyone (including me) takes the time to write. Getting that note (written in cursive even!), made me want to buy some fine stationary and pick up a pen and start writing to people again. I don't know if I'll doodle in the margins this time around, but I like the idea that years from now, the letter might end up in the bottom of a box of mementos, dog eared, and permanent.

-Catherine