Letters

I used to spend hours writing letters.  Not necessarily hours at one sitting, but sometimes I'd write several pages at one sitting.  In the 1980's/90's I wrote several letters.  I enjoyed pulling out a piece of lined notebook paper and filling it with whatever came in to my mind.  I also enjoyed buying stationery.  Sometimes I'd think of a particular person as I purchased the stationery and I could hardly wait to get home and find my comfy spot to sit down and write a letter to that person.  I can also remember the anticipation I always felt going to the mailbox hoping for a letter.  Sometimes I would receive one, sometimes on a VERY GOOD day, more than one. 

Letter writing has just gone by the way.  It's a lost art..at least for me.  I do still try to remember to send a birthday card, but sometimes I even allow myself to forget to get in my car, drive to the store which is about 4 or 5 minutes away, and stand in the card section to look for a card and think about a person.  I have all kinds of excuses.  One of the excuses is e-cards.  Just like I have stopped writing letters because I discovered e-mail.  I type much quicker than I hand write, but here in the last while, even emailing has become a bit tiresome. 

It is a cloudy day, a bit drizzly, my mood is also a bit cloudy, tired and drizzly.  I get that way from time to time.  I feel a little colder today than I have in awhile, I found myself even needing to turn up the heat, just a few degrees.  As I was standing at my sink to load the dishwasher, because I try hard not to hand wash any dishes unless I absolutely have to, I stopped dead in my tracks and thought of the pleasure I used to get from writing and receiving letters.  I wonder if my children will ever know what it's like to write letters to a pen-pal..I used to have one in elementary school..I don't remember where she lived, but I remember having one.  I would meet people when I visited my grandma, and I met a niece of my dear friend Sister Farrer and they became my pen-pals.  We'd send each other little letters.  Then once in awhile we'd get to see each other again.  I loved writing to missionaries and receiving letters from them with their "goings on in far away places" and to read their testimonies.  I wrote letters to my parents and siblings when I went away to college and I'd tell them each detail about life at BYU, my version of it anyway.  Then I'd eagerly await their letters and read them over and over again to feel a bit closer to home when I was far away.  Calling on the telephone was much more expensive than writing a letter, now it doesn't cost me any more or less to pick up my telephone and call my family.  I remember writing letters to the friends I made at BYU and then waiting for responses to hear what their lives were like, some were still at BYU, some had moved on and gotten married and sadly some I lost contact with. 

I was single for 30 years.  From the years of 18 to 30, I wrote many, many letters.  I have an accordian file folder of letters I received during those years as well. 

When I met Eric and after establishing that we had a "THING" for each other, we began writing to each other.  Sometimes cards, sometimes letters written on pieces of stationery and sometimes sticky notes.  I love it when he takes the time to write something to me in a card or on a gift he's given me and I can go back and re-read it as often as I want to.

I wrote some letters even after marrying.  However, as email and other forms of communicating have become more popular and easy, I have almost STOPPED writing letters.  It's kind of sad.

Well, I need to get back to loading the dishwasher and drinking something hot to warm me up.  Will I write more letters??  I sure hope so.....hmmm.