“How wonderful it is to be able to write someone a letter! To feel like conveying your thoughts to a person, to sit at your desk and pick up a pen, to put your thoughts into words like this is truly marvelous.” ~ Norwegian Wood
Some of the cards received
The very first postcard I got was from an Uncle [Grandpa’s brother], a few days after I was born.. He was travelling and sent a card as soon as he heard the news. I found this years later, and apart from this, there are so many cards that were sent by various uncles and grandpa [mom’s dad] during their travels abroad..They used to go abroad often on work [ leather business] and have sent cards addressed to me or mom to wherever we were [ I grew up in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirunelveli before hitting Chennai]… Today I have almost all the cards and letters sent by them, some were sent to others in the family, but well I got my hands on them. There were also a few from Japan and Korea, new ones which granpa had that belong to me now 😀
I also have an uncle in Delhi and another in USA who have sent cards almost regularly, for birthday & new years, which I have with me.. Infact, my uncle in USA continues to send cards even now and I get one just for me 🙂 Like this uncle, I collect stamps as well [ when I remember, else I just save the entire envelope]
I also have friends with whom I have exchanged letters, back in the day when we did not have phones and lived in different towns, letters were the only way to keep in touch. Blessed to have friends who wrote, long detailed letters- some would be filled with updates on their family, others would just be rants about what they were going through…..It did not matter, I enjoyed reading and responding to them all. Another thing I love is to put stickers and little quirky colourful text on the letters and cards. Infact, I recently put one in a card to a baby cousin…
So, if I were to look back at all these, my love for the whole “writing” as a hobby was something I got from my family. I love sending out letters and cards, be it on their own or with gifts to people I care about. Infact there have been times when my uncle from USA would visit and the day he leaves I would drop a gift with a letter into his hand baggage which he would discover sometime during his flight. I have done similar stuff for friends as well. Guess, I am all about surprises and heart felt notes… 🙂
Today, whenever anyone is travelling, the only thing I ask for, or sometimes don’t even need to ask for is a postcard. Some post it from the destination, others bring it back and hand deliver or courier it across with other stuff.. It fills my heart with such joy, I fail to find words. And then there are those that get lost in transit.. Sigh! Recently my sister asked me if I got the card she had sent from Spain, alas its been few months and no sign of it. Similarly, another card that a friend sent from Europe never made it to me. But the fact that they did send me one makes me smile.
Know what, I started this habit of sending myself a postcard whenever I travel [ done it 8/10 times].. It is fun visiting post offices in the town, learning about their system and picking out stamps etc [ esp in USA]..
Few years ago, I discovered this website called Postcrossing– it is like pen pals, except here you are assigned a random address [6 to start with] and you send them postcards [no personal details but a ID number assigned to you], but then over the years I somehow dropped the ball on that one, but I did make a few friends through the Facebook forum on “postcrossing” and I do exchange cards with a few of them.
I do collect stationery- stickers, pens, pencils, notepads, bookmarks, washi tapes, and just about everything else that comes under this category. Well, must say this whole habit has been toned down a bit since I moved to “minimalism” way of living but I do get tempted. During my entire 1.5months of travel across USA, all I bought were pencils across cities I visited. 🙂
Few weeks back when I was cleaning out my room, I looked at the box of postcards- some received through postcrossing, some from friends, others from family and many new ones. That is when I decided that this year I was going to send out New year cards and letters to people who matter- friends , family and others… Some got gifts and a postcard, others got greeting cards with a long note in them… And when they tell me they loved what they got or it was a pleasant surprise, I smile and hope they pass it forward to someone else.. Send a note or a card to someone they care about….
Well, if you would love to get a note/letter from me, leave me a comment and send me your address to aaroo4@gmail.com.. Happy to write and don’t be surprised if it comes with a quirky sticker 🙂
Happy writing….
Love
Me
