3 February 2013

Storytelling Sunday- Precious letters

Why is it that we can delete a text or an email in one stroke but throwing away a letter is so hard? 
For nearly nine years my Mum has written to me. Away at boarding school, on my gap year and now at uni. 


At home there is a stack of letters held together by a bull dog clip. Not all of them are there. Some have got lost behind beds, under trunks or in house moves but the majority remain. 

This stack is just from my time at uni. Most weeks I get a letter. Sometimes it comes with chocolate, sometimes with post from home. Often on its own. 


I love them. Even though the news is old, even though we have shared this stuff on the phone each day, she has taken the time to sit down and write. Nearly always in green pen.

They are funny, they sometimes contain hand drawn pictures. They connect me to home. 

Letters are special. This stack, like the stack at home, is precious to me. It says, I thought of you, I took the time to sit down and write and draw, this is for you.

And sometimes when a letter doesn't quite cut it I get something like this...


Yes, these are precious. 

I am joining in with Sian's storytelling Sunday. This year we are sharing what is precious. Pop on over, read some tales, join in. 

27 comments:

Barbara Eads said...

You are so right about letters! Somehow, even though we love to get newsy emails, it's not quite the same personal touch as a letter. I fear that as the years go by, the art of letter writing is going by the wayside. I have to admit that I don't even write letters any more.You have inspired me to write a letter to each one of my daughters and grandchildren. I better get busy, that's 8 letters on the "to do" list now! Thanks for the nudge!

Ruth said...

You can't beat a hand-written piece of personal mail!

Karen said...

Love that last card! When I was away at school, there was no email, and phoning was expensive. I got a letter from my mother and one from my father every week. Until my father passed away, a weekly letter exchange was expected. Phone calls were for emergencies or for breaking news---and were used sparingly. I still have most of the letters in a big box.

debs14 said...

There really is something special about a handwritten letter or note isn't there? How lovely that your mum takes the time to write to you so regularly.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely little post - there's nothing like getting a hand-written letter through the door (or in your pidge!)....

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

How wonderful she writes you actual letters! I don't think I have received a letter from someone in more than 15 years!

Lythan said...

They are precious indeed. My mum started writing to me once a week when I started uni 30 years ago. And still does. Sadly I have neither kept all the letters nor passed the tradition on. And I think I am the one losing out really....

Sian said...

You make such an important point here! Oh, yes, letters are all precious. I have letters from my Grandpa and my Uncle, both of them long gone. By the time I started university my Mum's hands were failing and she couldn't write a long letter - it's hard to imagine now in our days of instant communication that we were limited to a couple of calls a week, which I made from a call box. Keep them all! keep all those letters. I'm perfectly sure that you won't regret it. A great post

Unknown said...

Yes, keep them, although i'm sure you don't need me to tell you that :)

scrappyjacky said...

There is nothing like a hand written letter. I am so glad that I still have some of those that my mother wrote.

Becky said...

I love the card! You are that it is so nice to receive a handwritten letter. I try to write to Penny at uni once or twice a term (she does come home every weekend but it is still nice to receive post!) and I write to my son who has left home now. Thanks for sharing your precious. X

Lou said...

I'm surprised with all the technology we have, texting, facetime/skype etc that you mum takes the time to write and post you a letter. This is so precious and one i will remember for when my children leave home. Thanks for this story today Abi x

Alison said...

I agree..it is so nice to receive handwritten mail!
Alison xx

Ginger said...

Conversations on a phone are forgotten and text messages don't always tell the whole story. I have letters my aunt and grandmother shared, my mom had wanted to throw them away, but I asked if I could keep them. I never met my aunt, but I enjoy reading those letters as it tells me the relationship she had with my grandmother.

Cate Brickell said...

How amazing that your mum takes the time to write! I can imagine how fantastic it will be, looking back on them in twent years time, remember the pieces of life shared, and prompting memories that aren't captured yet!

Unknown said...

I LOVE handwritten letters and I have the hardest time throwing any away, too. They are way too special to toss!

Jane said...

long may we continue to write letters!!

Sheena said...

What a fabulous collection of letters to treasure x
Many thanks for sharing.

Missus Wookie said...

Oh a big part of the boarding school routine for me was the obligatory 'write a letter home' although you could write to anyone as long as you had an envelope ready by the end of the session to be sent off.

My Mom found huge piles of them when she cleared out the previous generation's houses - including ones she'd sent home. Such a unique glimpse of life way back when.

♥ Liz ♥ said...

Handwritten letters are great. They really mean that someone has taken time to think about you. :0)

dogmatix said...

How wonderful that your mum writes to you, in the real way rather than the electronic way. Such a precious thing to have :-)

Elizabeth said...

Handwritten letters are the most precious things. Years after receiving them, they can be read and it brings that memory flooding back. Loved the ending where it says no matter how hard you try, you end up like your mother. I realize that more every day!

Jo said...

You are right, it's impossible to throw away handwritten letters. I love your precious and you probably have a stronger relationship with your mum because of the distance and effort put into the lovely letters x

Anonymous said...

Handwritten letters are so very special. You are so lucky to have those - I wish I had some now from my Mum but ... I do have though a letter from my Dad to my Mum that was written during World War II and survived a ship sinking that is very precious to me.

Miriam said...

What a fabulous post. Letters, yes they are amazing, handwriting brings the writer so close. And no, it is much too hard to throw something so beautiful away? No keep them...forever.

Unknown said...

That is very true, a letter is something very special. The love that flows throughout a handwritten later shows in every word on the page. They are truly precious.

Maria Ontiveros said...

Very late finishing up the storytelling stories, and this is the second set of precious letters I've seen. I have a big file full of the letters that Paul and I exchanged over the three years we were apart. I could NEVER throw them away.
Rinda