Communication the old fashioned waye

On Monday it was a grey morning so I decided to sit down and respond to several of my friends who had written me letters with their Christmas cards. I enjoyed having the time to do this and told them what I had been doing since I was a free agent as it were. I was a bit sad this year to notice that fewer cards came through my letter box I am of the generation where I still walk to the mail box every day to see if I have real mail. The pleasure of finding a letter from a friend or a postcard from another country is wonderful. I take them inside and treasure them over a cup of coffee. It is warming to my heart to know that someone has thought of me and taken the trouble to write and tell me what’s happening in their life or choose a special postcard from their holiday for me.

The same thing  is happening with birthday cards as the modern generation send messages on social media it is just not the same as receiving heartfelt messages in the snail mail. I guess I am sentimental but I usually keep my cards for at least a week and the really nice ones sometimes longer or I recycle and make them into something else. I have taken up card making over the last couple of years and enjoy making a special card for each of my friends and family. This year I made 24 Christmas cards for family and friends. Five years ago I was sending out between 30-40 cards so it really is surprising how much things have changed.

New Zealand post has found that real mail has dropped in volume so much that as from July we will only get 3 deliveries a week ! No doubt this is happening all over the world and change is constant as they say. As a librarian and book lover I worry about people’s stories and whether they will never be told to the world in later times. Think about famous letters such as those between Elizabeth and Robert Browning . Ah well I will be interested in your thoughts if you are reading this as I decided on the blog because it enables me to communicate more fully and deeply. Have a great day everyone wherever you are and think about when you last wrote someone a letter.