Letters No More (SOLS #20)

Writing about a slice of my life was not at the top of my "to do" list this evening.  Perhaps, it's because I've had a long day.  My daughter and I had dentists appointments after work, and I'm finally home and settling in for the night.  Now, what to write?  Writing.  Letters.  When was the last time I wrote (not on the computer) a letter?  It's been so long that I can't even remember.


I do remember writing lots and lots of letters when I was a child.  I must have been around 5th grade.  I used to write letters to a favorite cousin who lived about 30 miles away.  There was no cell phone, Internet, or Skype at that time.  Of course, my parents would never allow me to make a long distance phone call.  I may have rebelled a couple of times, and called my cousin without their knowledge.  If I did, I'm sure I only stayed on the phone a few minutes, otherwise they would certainly have found out.  So, my cousin and I did the next best thing, we wrote letters to each other.  I recall how excited I would be to find a letter in the mail, addressed to me.  I would run to the mailbox, find  the letter, and rip it open.  I probably read those letters over and over.  Then I would sit at my desk and write a letter to her in return.  In my letters, I would answer questions, give her updates, and share secrets.  Not family secrets, I didn't know any of those (none that were interesting enough to write about), but secrets that would be shared between the two of us.  I would send  my letter off, and wait for one in return.  I remember spending an entire summer writing letters to my cousin.

Letter writing seems to be a lost art.  I remember my grandmother writing lots of letters to family and friends who lived far away.  I remember my older sister buying scented stationary to send love letters to her boyfriend.  All of which it seems, is becoming a lost art.  I know that letter writing is still taught in schools.  Yet in the real world, outside of school, how often are kids exposed to the fancy penmanship of a handwritten letter?  Perhaps on occasion.  Maybe not at all.  Don't get me wrong, technology has it's place, and I can barely function when there's a problem with my computers, or there's a power outage, or the $300 bulb on my Smart Board goes out, in my classroom.  However, I feel a bit of sadness at the idea that letter writing may become a thing of the past.  So many boys and girls, will never know the thrill of running to the mailbox in anticipation of a letter   J-u-s-t   F-o-r   T-h-e-m.