Am I the only one to miss slow-long-old-fashioned-handwritten messages?
Letters are becoming a thing of the past, but when I got back home from my holidays, I had a nice and shiny postcard waiting for me :) :) It was such a wonderful surprise that I got inspired and decided to write something about it.
A personalized, thoughtful message stands out from all the e-mails, junk mail and text messages I usually receive. Handwritten letters can demonstrate that people care, because they require effort (although, apparently, that’s not considered something very “fashionable” these days). They show that somebody has thought about you and what to say to you carefully, taking some time out to do it. That’s why they come across as something genuine and meaningful.
I remember being young (yes, I do) and writing letters that were 6 or 7 pages long. It took them a while to get to their destination plus an equal amount of days (if I was lucky) to get an answer back from the recipient (yes, most friends and family did reply). My friends still compliment me these days for my perseverance back then. In fact, having moved around so much from an early age, it was this persistence of mine what made me keep most of my long-distance friends. I admit that waiting for those significant pieces of paper was patience-consuming, but I loved the thrill of getting to the mailbox. I would always be the first one to go downstairs to check if there was any inside the box. Just seeing that there was a letter for me already made me happy and reading “adventures” from people I cared about gave me such joy… I just loved it! (I still do).
I could keep doing it the old way, but e-mails and social networks make it unnecessary and silly. Besides, I don’t have as much energy, motivation or time in my hands as I used to have back then. This has got to be the biggest sign of me getting really (really!) old, because time runs way too fast in and around my life nowadays (it used to last a lot more not so long ago, didn’t it?).
Although I keep gathering "strength" and sending missives from time to time, I hardly receive any for myself anymore. The only things that get into my mailbox are some invoices and pounds of junk mail, so now I tend to avoid being the first to go downstairs to grab them.
Christmas is peak season for me and my writings. If work is not killing me when the appropriate time comes (it's also my job's "peak season"), I even design my own cards and letters. Such fun! The only problem I find (with people I know moving around so much) is that some of my addresses are not updated anymore and, therefore, some of the letters are returned. It is then that I use the e-mail to check what’s going on, unless –of course- the letter gets lost and I think everyone got his or hers when they really didn’t (oh, well).
So even though technology has taken over, remember that there are still old-fashioned spirits who manage their way into old-fashioned customs from time to time... and that's a good thing to do!!
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