Sometime last week I wrote five letters in a day. I later reflected about each of the people I had written to and the relationship I have with each one. Were they collected in a room only two of them would have something in common and that is because they are mother and daughter. Now that I think of it, it might be great fun to gather random friends for a conversation. I wonder what I might learn about each as they get to know each other. But I digress.
Of my five letter recipients, one I do not personally know. She is a pen pal I collected over at the Fountain Pen Network. I may not know her, as we have never personally met, but through her letters I like her. My second recipient is a pen pal I actually know. We met years ago and since a recent crossing of paths we have seen each other regularly. I have very much enjoyed developing a friendship with her and lately letter writing has aided that development.
Recipient number three...well he is a body I never thought I would write to. In fact, he is a body I have thought very little about at all. He is something of a long lost uncle, not lost in the strict sense of lost, as the family could have contacted him if we wanted to, but lost, rather, through a family rift. Unfortunately, for years now he has been estranged from the family through every fault and effort of his own. I was just a kid when his shenanigans rent the family fabric and though the other aunts and uncles have quite sore feelings toward him even to this day, I never harbored hard feelings. I have kept in touch with his daughter over the years and when I learned of his wife's passing I knew it was time to write a letter. The letter was short and sympathetic to his loss...just the polite sort of letter one sends under such circumstances, but it was contact. I do not know what will come of it but I have hopes that now that he has lost his partner in crime he will seek reconciliation with his family. I do not know if I hope too much but I do know that because I made the effort of a letter I will not look back one day and wonder, "What if?"
The last two recipients are mother and daughter. Like recipient number two, recipient number four is a friend I met years ago. For the last six years we have seen each other annually at family camp where I enjoy our visits and watching her daughter grow. At the last camp we decided we would write letters to each other as we both appreciate the nearly lost art. In her last letter she told me that her seven year old daughter keeps my letters saying they are like letters from the Queen. Maybe the sealing wax elevates my letters to royal status. Naturally, I could not resist writing to my young friend so that she could have her very own "letter from the Queen." I used my nicest cursive which she probably will not be able to read yet because I did not want her letter to be any less queenly than her mother's. I mailed it in a cheery envelope I made just for her complete with butterfly liner and sealing wax. I hope she enjoys it just as much as she enjoys her mother's letters. I also hope that she will learn the joy of letter writing and that when she is grown she will continue the tradition with friends of her own.
Of my five letter recipients, one I do not personally know. She is a pen pal I collected over at the Fountain Pen Network. I may not know her, as we have never personally met, but through her letters I like her. My second recipient is a pen pal I actually know. We met years ago and since a recent crossing of paths we have seen each other regularly. I have very much enjoyed developing a friendship with her and lately letter writing has aided that development.
Recipient number three...well he is a body I never thought I would write to. In fact, he is a body I have thought very little about at all. He is something of a long lost uncle, not lost in the strict sense of lost, as the family could have contacted him if we wanted to, but lost, rather, through a family rift. Unfortunately, for years now he has been estranged from the family through every fault and effort of his own. I was just a kid when his shenanigans rent the family fabric and though the other aunts and uncles have quite sore feelings toward him even to this day, I never harbored hard feelings. I have kept in touch with his daughter over the years and when I learned of his wife's passing I knew it was time to write a letter. The letter was short and sympathetic to his loss...just the polite sort of letter one sends under such circumstances, but it was contact. I do not know what will come of it but I have hopes that now that he has lost his partner in crime he will seek reconciliation with his family. I do not know if I hope too much but I do know that because I made the effort of a letter I will not look back one day and wonder, "What if?"
The last two recipients are mother and daughter. Like recipient number two, recipient number four is a friend I met years ago. For the last six years we have seen each other annually at family camp where I enjoy our visits and watching her daughter grow. At the last camp we decided we would write letters to each other as we both appreciate the nearly lost art. In her last letter she told me that her seven year old daughter keeps my letters saying they are like letters from the Queen. Maybe the sealing wax elevates my letters to royal status. Naturally, I could not resist writing to my young friend so that she could have her very own "letter from the Queen." I used my nicest cursive which she probably will not be able to read yet because I did not want her letter to be any less queenly than her mother's. I mailed it in a cheery envelope I made just for her complete with butterfly liner and sealing wax. I hope she enjoys it just as much as she enjoys her mother's letters. I also hope that she will learn the joy of letter writing and that when she is grown she will continue the tradition with friends of her own.
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