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| Letters from 5 generations |
My mother was a prolific letter writer, so was my father. They had friends and family scattered around the world, so it was a rare day when the postman didn't deliver a bundle of personal letters.
I have some small boxes of them, including one letter from my maternal great grandmother, grandma and her sister, my mother and her sister and lots which my father and mother wrote to each other.
Some of the letters were written by me, to my parents, along with those from my (young) children to my parents.
Now I am able to add another layer, the first few of many, I hope.
My 8 year old granddaughter has been getting a bit worried about corona virus; too much talk at school, snippets she may see on the news, etc. I decided that she needed a distraction.
Letter writing. It sounds boring, but she has jumped straight in and is really enjoying herself. Every day she writes a couple of letters to me, and I write back to her. I use purple ink (her favourite colour) and make sure that I use pretty stationery, or attractive postcards. Sometimes I use an envelope, other times I turn the letter into a self-folding envelope. Little things, but it keeps it fresh.
I am very impressed with the way she has responded to it all, her letters are a delight to read and I have been told that she still gets a thrill out of every new letter I send her.
Do you still write letters by hand?
Ooh yes! I have just sat down at the pooter having written a letter to an old friend. I'd love to write MORE letters but want real letters back. The trouble is that e mail is "free" and anything will seem expensive in comparison. I would rather compare it to the price of a bunch of daffs! It gives at least as much pleasure. I hope your grandaughter enjoys her new hobby.
ReplyDeleteHello Mary, I know the price of a stamp is extortionate these days, and set to increase, but the pleasure of finding a handwritten letter on the doormat is hard to beatv and I hope you find many more handwritten ones on yours! I have just written my Friday morning letter and, I understand, she is busy writing hers to me right now, before she goes to bed. Difficult to say which of us is enjoying it more.
DeleteThe letter was (of course) hand written.
ReplyDeleteI didn't doubt it for a moment.
DeleteI still write a few letters but not by hand. I can change sentences and words and correct mistakes so much easier on the computer and then just print them out.
ReplyDeleteI too have files of old letters received from friends and family in days of old.
You had a brainwave there with your granddaughter and letter writing. It sounds as though you've made it into loads of fun
Hello Linda, I know what you mean and, yes, that delete button comes in very handy! There is something very special about holding a handwritten letter in your hand, especially if it is from those we love(d), a lovely link to the past - unless it happens to be a grumpy letter of course!
DeleteI know that my granddaughter keeps a diary (under lock and key) and she enjoys writing in that, so I had my fingers crossed that this would also appeal to her. What I love about her little letters is that her personality just leaps off the page, she writes straight from the heart - which makes me think that her diary will make interesting reading for her, if she hangs on to it long enough!
I knew you and I had something in common Elaine... I also use purple ink. Or to be exact... I did back in the day... hate that expression, but it so accurately describes what I mean!?! My trouble is everyone says what lovely writing I have, followed hard on the heels by... I can’t really read it!?! My upper case, capitals in old speak has often been likened to Chinese calligraphy, once again, easy on the eye, but blooming difficult to flaming well read. A letter written on lovely paper and real ink is a joy and I well remember getting letters from, sadly I ought to say boyfriends, and the accompanying heart-flutter as you opened the envelope with a quivering thumb. Need I say more?
ReplyDeleteLX
Hello Linda, Your writing sounds rather wonderful - mine is not quite like a drunken spider meandering across the page, but it could easily become so. I try to write quite legibly for her, but a few flourishes do creep in now and then. I remember that heart-flutter very well - I exchanged letters with one of my boyfriends for over 3 years, it was great fun - then there was Roger, who was in the Coldstream Guards, Peter who was a Pilot in the RAF - goodness, I had forgotten all about them and their letters!!
DeleteDon’t you just love OPB (other people’s blogs) as they mine your long lost memories? In amongst the dross there can be found a diamond glinting in the dark?
DeleteLX
I used to have lots of penpals, all over the world, and am still in touch with a few, but I have to say most of my correspondence is online now. Sometimes I come across a letter when I'm having a clearout, and it takes me back down memory lane - guessing from what they are saying to me in reply, what I told them.
ReplyDeleteNo family letters, sadly.
I have to agree though, nothing so nice as receiving a hand-written note or letter.
Hello Jennie, Funnily enough, just the other day I came across a letter from you - beautifully written and a pleasure to read again. It is little short of miraculous that I have those old family letters, my father had a big bonfire of all kinds of documents and letters after my mother died, I am grateful that a few survived the cull!
DeleteI love getting hand written letters via snail mail but it doesn't happen very often. My friend uses an old fountain pen. I try to use pretty paper to write back. The off putting thing is the expense.
ReplyDeleteHello Jean, I do occasionally use a fountain pen, but with my scrawl it really isn't worth the effort. I have my late father's old fountain pen, he used it for over fifty years and the nib was definitely worn into a shape to suit his hand. Pretty writing paper makes up for a lot!
DeleteSad to say I write letters only now and then, my mother used to write letters home to her relations in Ireland and my Father did the same when he was alive. Sadly I never got into the habit, saying that I'm quite happy to email my mate in OZ
ReplyDeleteHello Billy, Our postal deliveries were enlivened by all the foreign postage stamps which were plastered on my parents' mail, they wrote to friends and family all around the world. Email is wonderful, no doubting that, and it allows us to keep in touch very easily, but there is something rather nice about finding a real letter with stamps in the postbox.
DeleteThis is so sweet. I wrote letters, for many years. No longer by hand, I can barely hold a pen to sign my name. But I do write letters, and mail them for free. Email.
ReplyDeleteHello Joanne, Email is very convenient, no doubting that.
DeleteHow are things in Ohio? By the way, I showed the photographs, of how you weave your cloth, to a very interested audience! Quite an eye-opener for them.
What a lovely idea, I'm glad your granddaughter is enjoying writing and reading letters. I still write a few mainly to cousins - I have two who are great letter writers and to a couple of friends who I haven't seen for ages. I love letters and cards to pop through the letter box, it's always a treat:)
ReplyDeleteHello Rosie, She is still enjoying herself and is finding it very easy to express her feelings in writing, which is a bonus. May your letter box be filled with many treats and surprise!
DeleteI still regularly with penpals, twenty women across the US and abroad and a few others on a couple times a year basis. Some letters are handwritten, some are typed. I have a huge stash of decorated letterhead and a smaller one of decorated tablets of paper. Some write long, newsy letters; others not so much but I sense they are lonely so I keep on writing. A lot of us use e-mail to alert the other that a letter is coming, I'm expecting a letter today, alerted by an e-mail a few days ago. Long may letter writing continue! Compared to some other activities, the price of a stamp is cheap, and well worth being able to connect to others.
ReplyDeleteHello Joyce, I like the way you personalise your letters, both in content and appearance. I can imagine they are well received and very much appreciated. The e-mail alert probably adds to the pleasure, anticipation being half the pleasure! That is an awful lot of writing and connecting to others, power to your elbow. I wonder how many letters you have written over the years. Thank you.
DeleteBy coincidence, I have a letter set to go out in today's mail. I have a dear friend who's been in treatment for lung cancer since November of last year. I've been sending her cards and posting comments on her blog, but last night I decided I needed to write her a letter. I copied all of the comments on her blog and printed them out along with a letter letting her know that I was still thinking of her and praying for her each and every day. I do send out cards--sometimes I make the cards, other times not. I don't write handwritten letters, but rather type them on the computer. Much faster, and way more legible!
ReplyDeleteHello Tehachap, I hope your friend enjoys her bumper package of comments and your letter, so kind of you. As for typing out the letters well, whatever works for you, the most important thing being to keep communicating with one another. I sometimes see cards which bloggers have made, all very impressive and rather lovely, it is always nice when someone puts that extra bit of effort in. Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteI have sent cards with notes to granddaughters on occasion but those really don't count as letters. I realized recently that I had no note paper when I had to send a note to someone who thought I had graduated from her high school class in 1968. I used a card then to write her back that she had the wrong Marcia.
ReplyDeleteHello Marcia, Oh, dear! I imagine she was pretty disappointed, but I hope she will continue her search. My granddaughter is passionately interested in wild animals, so I bought a pack of wild animal postcards, just for quick notes to her. I will be delivering the first one shortly, a tiger, which should make her happy!
DeleteSuch a shame the art of letter writing has dwindled, fascinating to read those bygone letters, a glimpse of life back then, their worries and news. Nothing better than to receive a written hug in a letter, uplifting. take care xcx
ReplyDeleteI love writing letters. I still write them occasionally and send them out. I am thinking that I will do this some more with my enforced isolation, how wonderful would it be to receive a handwritten letter at this time.
ReplyDeleteI wrote regularly to my grandmother, my last letter arrived two days after she died. When my aunt and father were going through her stuff they found a huge collection that I had sent her, I was so touched.