Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Image from Comics.com

    I (and the US Postal Service) are so thankful for Netflix.  I look forward to my next DVD in the mail, but wouldn't it be nice to open your mailbox to find more than just your Netflix envelope, your Southern Living Magazine, and some junk mail.  What if, on occasion, you received a real letter that someone took time to write and send.  Today, it is so easy to type an email and press send that we have lost the art of letter writing.  It is amazing how much more personal and special a letter is than a facebook message.
    Since I want to start writing more letters I figured I needed to come up with some reasons to write people. So here are some "excuses" I came up with to jump start my letter writing.
1. Special Occasions: I often buy a card for friends and family when there is a birthday, anniversary, graduation, new baby, so on.  I am not at all opposed to greeting cards, they are often sweet or really funny, but instead of letting the card do all the talking why not take the opportunity to tell the person how much you really appreciate and love them by simply adding a note to the card or writing a letter to commemorate that special occasion.
2. Thanks: Most of our moms taught us early to send thank you notes.  Instead of treating it as a chore, treat it as an opportunity.  Thank the person for the gift, tell them how much you appreciate it, how you will use it, then take the time to tell them how important they are to you.  And if you don't see them often take this opportunity to tell them what is going on with you, what a nice way for them to hear about your life.  And remember thank you notes don't have to be for material gifts only.  Send a note of thanks for hospitality, help at work or school, or for kindness someone showed you when you were sick or down.
3. Thinking of you: This is the tough one for me.  I tend not to contact people unless there is a specific reason to, I know lame.  I am sure we can all think of someone, like maybe a grandmother or friend who lives out-of-town, that would love to hear how we are and maybe even receive a picture or two.  I am going to try and get better at this by sending a "just thinking of you" letter once a month to a friend or family member.
4. A love letter: now this is tricky if you live with the one you love, but you don't have to put a stamp on it for it to be considered a letter.  Ryan and I have written each other letters for special occasions several times over the last couple years and they are so special to us.  They are a neat way to record how we have grown in love for one another throughout the years.  Think about decades from now how special those letters will be.  Hint for all you boyfriends or husbands:  I really think most women would agree that a love letter is very romantic (and it can be a cheap part of any gift!)

So those are my thoughts on occasions to write a letter so far... do you have any thoughts?  Do you have any good excuses to mail someone a letter?  Do you love/hate "snail mail"?

Here is a nice post about 10 Reasons to Write a Letter from a blog called 365 Letters.
And here is an article from Art of Manliness about letter writing.