Handwritten Letters, lost communication vital to our personal histories.

While searching through a closet recently, I found a box that contained some letters I had saved from years ago. I read letters written to me by my mother and aunts at various stages of my life – collage, as a newlywed, and as a new mother. I also saved several letters written to me on Mother’s Days from my very young son.

As I looked at their handwriting and read their words, memories came flooding back at each instance they wrote about. I remembered my mother sending me recipes when I first got married because I didn’t know how to cook anything other than eggs and mashed potatoes (not together, of course!). When my mother passed away, we found stacks of letters that she had saved from my brothers and me and our children as well as letters from her friends, sisters and other relatives.

When I was growing up, long distance calls were expensive, so writing was the norm. Emailing is now the norm. With the ease of emailing and social media such as Facebook along with inexpensive calling to anyone from anywhere,  keeping in touch is immediate, fast, convenient and easy.

The instant communication and connection is wonderful. However, the art of hand writing a letter has almost been lost. Emails are easily deleted or lost when a hard drive crashes. Even if printed out, an email looks so impersonal.

Without the personal handwritten letters, a part of our own history is lost to ourselves as well as to future generations. Our children, friends, brothers and sisters, spouses will not be able to pick up letters we’ve written many years before and relive these memories, or just feel the feeling that comes when seeing a love one’s handwriting.

Several years ago, my mother gave me a letter my father had written to her right after I was born. She also gave me a congratulatory telegraph sent by a close friend after my birth. Although the telegraph is not hand written, I know that the effort that it took to send it was more personal and involved than a quickly written email. I treasure these.

Although our lives are fast paced, we need to take a few minutes to write a letter or note to someone dear, just to say hello or to comment on a special occasion or event and actually use snail mail to send it.  And you can be sure that it will bring a smile to your face while writing it as well as to the person receiving it and each time in the future it is read.

Happy writing!

Phyllis

(c) Phyllis Dobbs