Today I noticed...Letter writing really is a thing.

I just started a new book. The title is The Letter and it is written by Katheryn Hughes. The letter is written in one era and the reader is in another. The book is telling the story of how the letter came to be and the impact it had on the people involved. I'm just about a third of the way into it but I'm already engaged and looking forward to getting to know more about these characters. I'm sharing this because I kind of thought letter writing was pretty much a thing of the past.

When I was a young girl, letter writing really was a popular means of communication. We wrote letters to relatives who lived in another state, for example. I remember corresponding with my Great Aunt Mae, who lived in Mobile, Alabama. She would send us a package and we would write a thank you note. She would write us a letter and we would write her back. Now, I realize that was a way for my mother to keep us writing and practicing what we learned in school. It was a way for her to keep us occupied and not making messes or fussing with one another. It was a way of showing respect to her aunt, who lived alone and far away. Plus, it gave us something to look forward to - our own mail arriving in the mailbox. 

I continued my letter writing habits up until both of my children were involved in dance lessons, baseball practices, student council, and other school activities that required me to be a taxi. The busy days and quick communication by phone seemed to replace letter writing. 

Then, a few weeks ago I learned about Postcrossing. The school teacher in me comes to the surface and I think of loads of ways for students to write a short message and send a postcard. If I was in the classroom these days, I'd probably have students do that as a warm up activity or use the exercise as a quick way to fill that last few minutes of class if a lesson wrapped up early. (Does that even happen? I always ran out of time to do the things I'd planned in class!) It would be a low stakes way for students to practice their writing skills and they would have an authentic audience for their work.

Then, just this week I was reading through ideas shared through a list I'm on related to The New York Times. It is called The Good List. It is just a collection of good things that are happening in the world. Who doesn't need to know about some of the good things around us? There is a short list of "six good things to add some joy to your day." Anyway, I learned about an online game that is sort of fun and addictive to play each week - Clues by Sam. I completed all of the Clues by Sam games for this week and it really challenged my thinking skills! I highly recommend giving it a try. The puzzles get harder as the week goes by. I found I had to rely on the hints - a lot. 

There was an interesting link to an article and information about Baseball Walk-up Songs. We think about that sort of thing already since we have had several ball players in our family. (Don't mention walk-up songs to my son, Bryan, though. He dislikes anything that might be distracting to his players.) There was also an interesting link to an essay about a couple's third thing. It really set me to thinking about what the third thing is for the Mister and me. It also made me pause and wonder what might be the third thing for other couples we know. Plus, it made me want to ask my grandchildren what the third thing might be for them as they navigate dating. Curious minds want to know.

At any rate, I really enjoyed reading the offerings of this week's Good List and each item on the list certainly made me pause and ponder - as usual. Added as a sort of afterthought to the list this week was a mention of someone from New Orleans who found a new calling. Boy, did I find her new calling inspirational. It makes me want to write letters again. I went down the rabbit hole of this site: The World Needs More Love Letters. It might not be the type of love letter that you first think of, though. I tend to agree that it inspired me to write more letters. I will give a try to writing letters to those who I love as well as those who might need a little more love in their lives. First to come forward in my mind is my hairdresser who shared a bit of personal information that really tugged at my heartstrings and made me keep her in my thoughts for days after my hairdo appointment. I'd also like to make sure my grandchildren get a bit of mail from time to time and I will probably stray from the prescribed hand-written and snail mail letter and send some positive text messages and emails to them, too. 

I know I'm a writer at heart but I would be remiss if I didn't encourage others to be writers as well. A letter is an easy way to do that. Why not write a letter to somebody this week just so that they can feel a little extra love? Letter writing really is a thing and I think it is a good thing.