"Letter writing can strengthen your immune response, reduce the symptoms of depression and reduce the need to visit a doctor." Yup, that's according to Claudia Kalb, a medical writer for Newsweek. That's what my experiment addresses (literally) this week - Written Correspondence to Friends and Family.
I am a big advocate of written communication. I've been practicing it my whole life. With my mom's family being from Manitoba, my childhood was filled with letters to Grandma letting her know what I'd gotten for Christmas (I still remember one response from her: "Your Christmas gift sounds very nice. What is a ghetto blaster?").
After my friend Dana moved to Ontario in elementary school, our relationship essentially existed through the mail. We'd send long letters written on perfume scented stationary embellished with rainbow and unicorn graphics.
My mother encouraged my sister and I to write thank you notes. Heck, I even named my business after the idea of written correspondence (RED ENVELOPE Marketing & Communications..."Just like finding a red envelope in your mailbox, as a business operator, I have the skills to package an organization's promotional activities so that they stand out from the rest"). Ahem, this blog post sponsored by…
After my friend Dana moved to Ontario in elementary school, our relationship essentially existed through the mail. We'd send long letters written on perfume scented stationary embellished with rainbow and unicorn graphics.
My mother encouraged my sister and I to write thank you notes. Heck, I even named my business after the idea of written correspondence (RED ENVELOPE Marketing & Communications..."Just like finding a red envelope in your mailbox, as a business operator, I have the skills to package an organization's promotional activities so that they stand out from the rest"). Ahem, this blog post sponsored by…
These days, I'm a busy woman. I just don't have time to write long, thoughtful letters. So this week I started by sending a couple of notecards to friends with just a short line or two in each. Not to sound hokey, but I do think it's the thought that counts. I believe my friends will appreciate receiving my short notes in the mail. Just like the notecard I received recently from a childhood friend who I ran into briefly at Christmas. It was a nice acknowledgement that even though we are both "all grown up", we can still give a nod to having a presence in each other's lives.
One letter I haven't written yet - but which I am going to commit to doing in the coming days - is writing to my penpal Carrie. Carrie (from Edmonton) and I were matched up as penfriends in the 4th grade. And although our letter exchange is no longer regular, we are still in touch (although severely overdue for some communication). I saved all of the letters and postcard received from Carrie over the years, and it's so funny to see how writings about her involvement in Ukrainian dancing as a girl turned in to trips to Cancun as a young adult, then announcements of wedding plans. Carrie, if you're reading, I'll be in touch soon!
If you don't send written correspondence to friends or family, is there anything that keeps you from doing this? There are SUCH cute packages of notecards available right now. If that doesn't sway you, maybe thinking about the warm fuzzes of sending and receiving a handwritten note will.
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