Outtakes #17

Drop Me a Line

I think I may be a dinosaur. You see, I miss hand-written letters on nice stationary. I believe we have lost the art of writing personal correspondence. I remember my mother set aside time each week to write the folks back home. With Dad in the military, we were often great distances away from loved ones. Telephones were still party lines, and international calls were limited and expensive, so letters were the best method of communication. Mom’s letters were full of family news. She related our school successes, the details of our forty-inch snow storm and digging out the cars, and my number six sister’s first words. Reading one of her letters was like sitting on the sofa with her and just talking. Her Christmas card notes were full of news and holiday cheer. There was never a hit of self-pity because she was away from the extended family for years at a time. When my husband and I moved to El Paso, I’d watch the mail box for an envelope addressed in mother’s feminine handwriting. It brought me home and kept me close to those I loved.

In Mom’s later years, she was no longer able to maintain contact with her dear friends by writing letters. I started penning her holiday messages and taking them to her to sign. Her address box turned into a book of memories and family history. As I wrote the letters, I relived the wonderful experiences and people from our time in Newfoundland, Louisiana, and Maine. I recalled family reunions, weddings, and births.  Now I realize the importance of my mother’s lessons on writing letters.

Advances in telecommunications and the availability of personal computers changed the face of personal correspondence. Phone calls replaced letters. My family and I communicate by email or texting. The lovely cards and newsy letters are now reduced to quick phrases and LOL in an email. Oh, how I miss seeing the flow of ink across paper. Now don’t get me wrong. I enjoy family newsletters generated on the computer. I’ve even gotten better at navigating Facebook to check messages and view photos. A chatty phone call works too. Just keep in touch.

This time of the year offers each of us the opportunity to reconnect with friends and loved ones. As writers, we have one more platform for stretching our creative juices and resurrecting a dying art. Why not create a newsletter template and correspond with those who are important to you? Once you get the basics down you can customize the letter by including tidbits that have special meaning to each person on your list. Yes, it takes a bit of time, but trust me on this. Your loved ones will be thrilled.  As for me, I plan to build a fire in the fireplace, get out my best stationary and favorite pen, and write my letters mom style.

Cait Collins