Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming

If there is no one in line behind me when I’m at a store check-out, I often enjoy briefly visiting with the clerk.  I especially enjoy it if the clerk is a teenager or twenty something as I like to get their perspective on things. For me, it’s more than just being friendly, it’s research.

So, today, while I was purchasing a get well card for a friend who has just undergone multiple surgeries, the clerk noticed the card, read it and gave his approval of my purchase.  He asked why I was sending it.  I told him and then we began the discussing the merits of sending cards versus phoning, e-mails, texts, etc. I said that – in reality – to maintain close connections and deepen relationships we need to do it all. And, I pointed out, folks of all ages still like opening old-fashioned snail mail. He said that his generation doesn’t send much – if any – snail mail.  Everything they do is done digitally.

How sad, if he is correct. While any type of communication is appreciated, the experience of opening mail and reading someone’s handwritten sentiments is like no other.  I think it must be in part because each person’s handwriting is unique to them. So, in a sense, receiving something written by hand – whether a letter or a simple signature on a card –is like receiving a portion of that person. It’s truly personal. Anything digitally communicated – not so much.

Let’s, then, not forget to keep some of the “old ways” – like snail-mailed cards and letters – as doing so is truly meaningful in ways you probably haven’t considered. One of which – and probably the most important – is that it is just one more way to stay connected to those we care about and love.