Dear You…

 

It has been over a year now since my much-loved Auntie Pollie’s spirit passed onwards from this Earth, and there are many things I have missed about her physical presence in that year. Things like comparing our gardening antics, putting the world to rights over FaceTime, and also swapping letters with each other. 

What nicer thing is there to receive in the post than a hand-written letter on lovely paper? Of course, letter writing is a dying art these days, what with the instant ways of communicating through emails and mobile phone messaging. Understandable, of course, given the rapid pace of 21st century living and the outrageous cost of postage stamps. But where's the joy in those forms of communication? For me, letter writing has become yet another area of genteel occupations that has been eroded by the growth of internet technology. And I don't like it one jot. It saddens me to see the impact wi-if technology is having on how we live our lives and I feel the urge more and more to fight against it, to keep up the traditions of an older, slower-paced (and better?) age. 

Anyway, here's a thing. Last September, totally out of the blue, I received a proper letter in the proper post from one of Auntie Pollie's granddaughters, Lottie! What a lovely surprise! Did I mind her writing to me? she said. Did I mind? Of course I didn't mind! Writing letters is one of my 'things.' It’s something I’ve done since childhood and something I intend to continue forever, as long as there is someone to whom I can write.

Lottie calls me 'Auntie Denise.' She and her sister always have, although their father is my cousin and that makes Lottie and her sister my first cousins once removed. But honorary ‘auntie' I am, and that is fine by me. Lottie wanted to share memories of her grandmother - my aunt - and I was happy to oblige. And ever since, we have swapped letters a couple of times a month and had a jolly good time in doing so. It’s so wonderful to be a part of her life, as she comes to the end of her university education and launches herself into the wider world. We have a surprising amount in common - not just family, of course, but in our humour, beliefs and outlooks on life.

Of course, I've had to buy some new stationery, which, as you can imagine, has been a bit of a hardship. I found a lovely independent company on Etsy called, 'Making Meadows' which has many sweet designs and allows you to buy as many sheets of paper as you want without the envelopes. This is good because when you buy a standard set of letter-writing paper you usually get twenty sheets of paper and ten envelopes, and who writes a letter using only two sheets of paper? Not me, that's for sure, and this means I end up with a surfeit of envelopes. Buying from this company means I have an opportunity to deplete my current envelope supply. 

Another Lottie letter arrived this morning, bringing a huge smile to my face on a day when I haven’t been feeling very smiley. I shall write back in the next few days and put her latest letter with my growing collection, alongside the ones I received from her grandmother, my Auntie Pollie. I also have another letter to write to an old work colleague who sent a card yesterday thanking me for the Christmas card and apologising for not sending one herself only she’s been very unwell. That definitely deserves a proper letter response. 

The planned letter writing has lifted my spirits in a way the exchange of emails never quite seems to manage. Of course, it’s nice to receive a ‘newsy’ email from a friend, but I don’t think you can beat a good old paper letter in the post.