Anyway, last night, I was thinking about how much I miss letters. I miss seeing written words and signatures; I miss the salutations and the niceties; I miss gently tearing open an envelope and unfolding a letter; and I especially miss seeing my name scrawled across the top of the page, "Dearest Thao".
For a second, I am someone's "dear" - it's too sweet for words.
I miss what the letter represents: a few moments someone has dedicated in their day to me, to us, to keep us connected. For me, this is the truest and most genuine gesture: the gift of time.
I miss reading and rereading their words until I had them memorized - to fully understand every sentiment, every nuance. These letters built the closest relationships of my youth.
It's been years since I've received a proper letter - no love letters, no generic inquiries from old friends - just a couple of words scrawled out here and there as an afterthought, and only on holidays and special occasions.
So, am I just a silly sentimentalist? When was the last time YOU'VE written a proper letter?
I still write my Aunt in India every once in awhile and its sad to see how bad my writing has gotten since I don't use it as much. I do enjoy it though and there still beats nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing an actual letter addressed to you...feels like you just won the lottery or something :) Between you and me, do you remember the pages and pages of letters we wrote each other on a daily basis or mailed to each other on our summers apart?? I miss it too! Thanks for bringing me some nostalgia on a rather boring Friday morning...
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Ha! Remember when we would try to see who could write the longest letters, and we would literally put one letter on a page??? I think the record was 50 something pages. We were not so green back then! :)
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