The Joy of a Hand-Written Letter
Woman Reading a Letter circa 1664-1666, artist Gabriel Metsu, painting and representative photo public domain, currently on display National Gallery of Ireland.
Today I had an experience that has become unique. I received a letter in the mail. This was not a form letter nor a card, nor an email.
This was two pages neatly hand-written on lined paper, and mailed in an envelope with a stamp.
There was a time we all communicated this way over the miles. Now we have email, text, Skype and social media.
It’s probably obvious that the person who wrote the letter was over eighty years old. The last time I received such a great letter, it was from my late grandmother.
I always hated writing letters, and certainly don’t miss having to. But this lovely missive, filled with news, musings and ideas, made me long for a time when we all knew how to express ourselves this eloquently on paper, and took the time to do it.
I’ll treasure this letter. Who knows when I’ll receive another?
On the other hand, as much as I enjoyed the letter, I’m planning on acknowledging it with a phone call. As much as I love the concept of hand-written letters, I’m not going to try to start a retro-fad. I wish someone would, though.
