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Send me a letter, handwritten!
Scribble anything. It‘s your effort to find the paper, the notecard, the address that makes it so special.
❤️ 50-year-old love letters ❤️
I recently rediscovered a trove of love letters from my now husband, written during the summer holidays of our college years. They were sent over 50 years ago when we were young adults and newly in love. His handwriting was atrocious, barely decipherable then, and still the same today. I love its familiarity—a reminder that I’m still in love with this man. Somehow these missives have survived storage in a handful of damp basements. I only thought about them recently when I was discussing with my editor
how I wanted to write a short post about the appeal of handwritten letters, so infrequent these days. Inspired by my conversation with her, I crawled into our cellar here on the coast of Maine and found the ones from Sam in a small box labeled “Private.”
It’s not the first time I’ve laid eyes on these letters; I remembered that they were in a blue box and I had a hunch where to look for them. But still, it was remarkable to handle these envelopes again; they’re a tiny, tangible reminder of our half-a-century love story (with its ups and downs, of course). I did read through a handful of the letters, or I tried, given Sam’s penmanship. Many are travelogues sent while he was touring around Europe. They’re not especially poetic; there’s an “I love you” thrown in now and then. That very much fits with the Sam of today. He’s not exactly sentimental, but he’s wonderfully steady, pragmatic, and caring, as with these many letters. That’s really the thing about letters, actually. It’s not the specific words that matter.
And some lovely recent letters…
More recently, I received, somewhat to my surprise, a handful of written condolence notes after my father’s death in late May. Some are perfunctory, a quick note on the inside of a card, but others are truly meaningful, a memory or anecdote about my dad captured by the letter writer. I treasured these words about my late father, rereading them at least twice. But I was equally struck by the care and effort it took to write each one of these notes, procure a stamp, and send it.
You could say I’ve been swept up in a sort of nostalgia around letter writing. And by that I mean handwritten letters specifically, professing love or describing the weather. It doesn’t matter. They are the same, after all. It’s the act of handwriting, then the effort of finding an envelope, the snailmail address, and a stamp–and carrying the missive to the post office or a post box–that makes them so special.
What about you? Do you still send letters or cards to friends or family? Does the slower pace of summer, and perhaps a favorite vacation spot, make you want to sit down and scribble on a postcard?
An invitation to readers
If you feel inspired, might you write a letter or card to someone in your life this summer? If you need a little practice, or you feel so inclined, write to me as well. I would love to get a letter or postcard from you! I promise to write back. Lengthy, existential messages to me or anyone else are not required. Tell us where you are in the world, what the weather is (heat waves for you??), and one thing you’re loving during these slower months. Here’s where to reach me via snail mail:
Debbie Weil
P.O. Box 786
Stonington, ME 04681
USA
Questions for readers
Do you still write and send postcards or letters?
Do you keep letters sent to you?
I’ve been awarded a “bestseller” badge (the little white checkmark next to my name) from Substack! It means so much, helps validate my work, and will, I hope, encourage many more readers to participate in a truly important conversation around [b]old age. As a paid subscriber you get access to my more personal essays about aging as well as Q&A’s and lively discussion threads with [b]old women. - Debbie
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I write letters to my wife. She keeps everything i write to her. On our 25th anniversary (2009) she surprised me with a book of my selected letters. She designed the book with a graphic designer. Scribbled notes, postcards, various hotel stationaries, all sorts of media. It's a beautifully designed book.
When she gave me the book as a gift, i told her "you win," meaning I'd never be able to give or receive a better gift.
Good inspiration for sending more letters. Thanks Debbie!
Yes and yes. It matters not if the recipient gave up paper and went to email, thinking that's the same. I'm glad for any response. I'm still going to write the letters. Some children loved going to toy stores when they were in grade school. My jam was the stationery stores with so many wonderful papers, envelopes and pens. Nobody, yet or ever, told me they did not like getting a real letter, with envelope and stamp. I still think it's the best bargain in America. Who else is going to take my letter and transport it all the way across the country and deliver it for a few cents?