I stalk my mailbox. Always thinking something exciting will come. You know, something more exciting than, say, bills. And more bills. Part of it may be the writer in me, waiting for another request to see my work. And I love getting my magazines too. Well, and I order things online. (okay, lots of things. I’m not much of an in person type shopper. I much prefer to shop online. Well, and I order books. Lots of books.) But I digress…
Most of the excitement regarding mail is a hold over from my youth.
I loved running out to the mailbox as a girl and checking to see if I’d gotten any letters. Back in the day when people still wrote letters out longhand instead of emailing, or IMing, or text messaging. (which have their place and are darned convenient at times) Back when I would get a letter and sit down in a comfortable chair, slowly work the envelope open, and pull out the folded paper. Remember that? I would open the letter and read all it had to say. Catching up on someone’s life. Possibly a picture enclosed with the letter. I miss that. I used to correspond with my grandmothers and my Great Aunt Verena. (isn’t Verena a very, very cool name? I love it.) I also went to summer camp, so all through the year I’d get letters from my camp friends. I loved to see what stationery they used. Fun colored envelopes. Oh, and we were into colored pens. Lots of colors. And hearts dotting the i’s and lots of loopy script.
As a total aside…see those boards leaning against the mailbox? That’s our war with the trash pick up guys. They were old cabinets that got warped and moldy when our basement flooded. So we put them out for the trash guys. They wouldn’t take them. Or the lamp sitting beside them…though they did take the time to cut off the cord to the lamp and take it…what’s up with that? But ANYWAY, to make a long story longer, we broke up the cabinets into pieces. They STILL didn’t take them today. My husband is so not going to be amused when he gets home tonight…
Where were we? Oh. Talking about real live mail. Don’t you love my mailbox? See how big it is? It can hold all sorts of packages. And letters. I still write letters. Especially at Christmas to my out of town friends. There is just nothing like a handwritten letter, using one of my favorite fountain pens and favorite notebooks. Do you still write letters?
edited to add:
Read part two of the Trash Guys story. And The Trash Guys-final chapter.
Letter writing seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur. Theonly handwriting I do now is thank you notes. I used to write letters to my grandmother in Scotland, pages and pages of drivel documenting the minute details of my day-to-day life. She always said getting a letter from me was like reading a story. Hmm…maybe I should have thought about being a writer.
Kacey,
I love this post! The art of letter writing has faded greatly in this high tech society. My mother wrote a letter to me every Sunday night from the time I was a freshman in college until her mind started to wane ten years ago or so. I still have a few of those letters, but I wish I’d saved all of them. Like you, I, too, still open the mailbox with a sense of aniticpation, always hoping for something–anything– more than a bill or junk mail.
By the way, we have the same problem with garbage pick up. Good luk on that one!
I have an sack of old letters I’ve saved. I must go find it and browse through them.
Amy, thanks for the good luck thoughts on the garbage pickup…
I still write out letters every once in a while but I always do Christmas cards and fill the insides–never just sign it and that’s it.
You *do* have a rather cute mailbox, so I can see how exciting it’d be to check it.
And good luck with the trash pick up guys 🙂
I miss letters, too. Real letters. I would love to write them myself but never seem to have the time to do so. I’m still trying to get my birth announcements out in the mail and my son is turning 5 months old.
Now what I wish for is the simpler life with more time to write letters…
I love your big mailbox! I don’t write letters anymore. I have a hard enough time handwriting notes. 🙂
I “intend” to write letters. Does that count? I compose them in my head and everything. Maybe the problem is finding something to use other than school paper and crayons or markers.
Okay, so what kind of books do you order? I’m always looking for a good book.
Bleeding Espresso–I write out long hand notes on my Christmas cards too! Only I didn’t send any this year. My bad.
Christine, I hear you on the birth announcements. Why is that “have to writes” like announcements and thank you notes seem to just drag out forever?
Tori, I love my big mailbox too! :love:
Karen, the books were photography books. Always trying to learn more about it. I love my camera as much as I love my mailbox
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