In this world of undo and recall, the entire art and science of letter writing has dire consequences. Think about it... A text or IM is received near-instantly, an email or phone call create instant accessibility, but a letter does not only take up more in the time-space continuum, it locks a moment in time preserving it for the near-future. The words written by the sender days earlier, now - today! - mean something to the recipient. However, in this world of instant hi and reply... what's the likelihood the meaning is no longer the same to the sender at the time the recipient is reading it?
I wondered this for the past few days, afraid to commit any of my thoughts to paper, only to send them away for someone else to keep, scrutinize, and hold me to. It was almost a little unnerving, the fact that it was causing me anxiety at all, considering I was the queen of letter writers back in the prehistoric days before the commonality of internet and cell phones. What if I wrote something foolish? Or misspelled a word in ink? ...What if the recipient and I had a huge falling out in the 1-3 days the post office took to deliver the letter...? So, the sooner the better is an axiom and not a cliche??
All these thoughts only fueled my constant late state of procrastination, and I did not ever get around to writing my letter over the weekend as planned. I even had "buying stationary" and "get a new calligraphy pen set" on the list held by a magnet to the refrigerator, in preparation for this momentous flashback occasion of Letter Writing! I am a woman of action and overzealous gestures, an artist with the written word! A writer by choice, even an amateur poet. Yet... here I was, essentially speechless for this man.
Not even five days passed since our conversation extolling our mutual love of snail mail, and only three days since I provided my new old friend with my address. I rarely check the mail at these new apartments (it's just not convenient), but today I decided to brave the wannabe snow and see what was inside. Monday's mail had pleasantly provided me with my new Starbucks Gold card and coupons for free coffee and eats, so I suppose I was feeling lucky.
And wouldn't you know it? I was. I was lucky!
I had mail.
And at that moment I realized... Who's the slacker (slackette?) now?
Gotta love a man with follow-through!
I wrote my letter finally, after turning around from the mailboxes at my complex and seriously going on the stationary hunt. (I did not find what I wanted, but I did purchase some cute general occasion cards.) My letter is now all ready for tomorrow morning's mail; in fact, I will deliver it personally to the post office on my way to work. In 1-2 days my recipient will have the much anticipated sunflower snail mail in his hands.
All I can do is smile and wait. And smile some more...
I wondered this for the past few days, afraid to commit any of my thoughts to paper, only to send them away for someone else to keep, scrutinize, and hold me to. It was almost a little unnerving, the fact that it was causing me anxiety at all, considering I was the queen of letter writers back in the prehistoric days before the commonality of internet and cell phones. What if I wrote something foolish? Or misspelled a word in ink? ...What if the recipient and I had a huge falling out in the 1-3 days the post office took to deliver the letter...? So, the sooner the better is an axiom and not a cliche??
All these thoughts only fueled my constant late state of procrastination, and I did not ever get around to writing my letter over the weekend as planned. I even had "buying stationary" and "get a new calligraphy pen set" on the list held by a magnet to the refrigerator, in preparation for this momentous flashback occasion of Letter Writing! I am a woman of action and overzealous gestures, an artist with the written word! A writer by choice, even an amateur poet. Yet... here I was, essentially speechless for this man.
Not even five days passed since our conversation extolling our mutual love of snail mail, and only three days since I provided my new old friend with my address. I rarely check the mail at these new apartments (it's just not convenient), but today I decided to brave the wannabe snow and see what was inside. Monday's mail had pleasantly provided me with my new Starbucks Gold card and coupons for free coffee and eats, so I suppose I was feeling lucky.
And wouldn't you know it? I was. I was lucky!
I had mail.
And at that moment I realized... Who's the slacker (slackette?) now?
Gotta love a man with follow-through!
I wrote my letter finally, after turning around from the mailboxes at my complex and seriously going on the stationary hunt. (I did not find what I wanted, but I did purchase some cute general occasion cards.) My letter is now all ready for tomorrow morning's mail; in fact, I will deliver it personally to the post office on my way to work. In 1-2 days my recipient will have the much anticipated sunflower snail mail in his hands.
All I can do is smile and wait. And smile some more...
~⊱⊹⊰
23 Feb 2010
