For the Love of Mail

I love mail. Real paper mail. Cards. Postcards. Packages and such. The problem is...we have lost the fine art of correspondence. Letters used to be the only way to "get word" to someone. Then came the telephone. Then came email. Oh the email. Don't get me wrong...I love email too, but there is just something cold, electronic, and impersonal about it. When I go to my mailbox and see a handwritten note, I am GIDDY with excitement. If that letter is 3 pages long with doodles, quotes, verses, a teabag, and such, I am ECSTATIC. You would think I won the lottery. I I know exactly when my mailman arrives everyday. I loooove having my mailbox right on my house so I can grab it quickly! Ninety percent of the time, I recieve junk mail or business mail, but I am blessed to have a few select friends in my life who appreciate the value of a handmade/handwritten note. I love them for that. Their letters need not contain deep thoughts...I just love to hear about the happenings in their daily lives.

When you send real meal, you are basically saying that the person on the other end is worthy of your time. You are putting your feelings onto paper...a permanent expression of your love for them. I have saved many letters over the years...from my dad, my grandma, my sister, my brother, my husband...and everytime I open that letter again, I am transported back to the first time I read those words.

So my challenge for everyone reading this...is to write ONE letter this week. Brighten someone's day, send photos, send goodies, send your love.

More thoughts on letter writing.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user "Living in Monrovia".

A Fun Day

Today, my friend Rebecca and her daughter Bianca came over and we had a garage sale. It wasn't wildly successful monetarily, but we did get rid of a lot of stuff and now the rest will be packed up and donated. So nice to purge. Bella and Bianca are about 6 months apart in age, and love to play together. Bella is learning how to share things...a hard lesson when you are two! We had a great time talking...I got to hear more about how she met her husband, Mauro, and their time in Brazil.

Rebecca wanted to go to Outlaw Ink and get her nose pierced today...so we met up there and watched her get stabbed with a needle. It was quite lovely. I think she looks adorable with it! Her friend Megan was in town...so she hung out with us for the rest of evening as well.

After that, we went for supper at Planet Sub (try their Pesto Bello!). While there I mentioned an independent video store that a friend had recommended and Rebecca said it was just down the street, so we went to check it out. It's called "Best Place Ever" and it's all independent films, hard to find films, and documentaries. I was in heaven! It's only $2.65 to rent there...I picked up City of God on Rebecca's recommendation (it's set in Brazil).

Then we headed to Valley Junction for Jazz in July and listened to some music for a bit. The girls were entertaining for all those around us...they each had a stroller (that I got on Freecycle) to walk their babies in. They loved dancing to the music.

It was a great day...so beautiful and sunny. Full of the warmth of new friendships and children's laughter. God is good.

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