Life in Letters

Sometimes the US Postal Service blog has some really great articles. I read one tonight that was very heartwarming about a friend who helped another woman get through cancer by sending her a letter every single day until she was cancer free. You can read about it here.

Writing is very therapeautic whether you are writing in a journal for yourself, or whether you are sharing your thoughts with another through letter writing. I used to write letters to my grandparents when I was a child and then I began writing letters to my friends who lived in another town while I was in junior high school. I still have all of the letters I ever received during this time. I have an old footlocker filled to the brim. Inside are words that jolt my memories awake and make me smile.

My first love wrote the most amazing, romantic letters to me. He and I were just 16 years old but we were madly and passionately in love. I have all of his letters that he wrote me. I also have all the ones I wrote to him. (he gave them back to me when we broke up) I cherish every single word.

Above: just one of many of his letters.

When I was in my twenties, I met a guy who lived two hours away from me in Southern California. He loved writing letters to me and he was very good at it. I thought he was so cool and his letters always gave me such a lift.

Above: two of several letters I received from him.

Then there was this guy I carried a torch for who lived in South Lake Tahoe. He wrote me letters too.  Oh, how my heart would soar when I would hear from him. It is also through him that I met my now husband. Funny how fate intervenes. I've been with my husband for 24 years now.

But I still cherish the above letters.

I have letters from childhood friends.

Above:  My mom's best friend's daughters whom I've known since the age of four. I have boxes full of letters from them beginning in the 1970's. These are just a few from the sisters.

Just a few of the letters from my best friend from elementary school. We met in Kindergarden in 1969-1970. I moved away in 6th grade.

Letters from my high school best friend. Just a few of the many, many letters from her.

A humorous birthday card from my dad. Just one of many.

Above: Letters from different cousins.

Above: a letter from a boy that I crushed on big time until he sent me a letter just before this one with a ring in it. It totally freaked me out and scared me off. (I was only 14 or 15)

This letter is one of a few I received from the same person who had romantic feelings towards me. I liked him but not as much as he liked me. His letters are phenomenal though and he was quite open which I truly admire. This is about a five page letter. 

Every now and then I'll go through my trunk and read some of the various letters from friends or old boyfriends or from my dad or grandparents. No matter which letter I pick up to read, it always leaves me with a smile on my face because it's proof that someone loved me and wanted to share their life with me. Letters are personal history.

Write on!

More anonymous love letters going out

In case you missed the first blog post about letters to strangers, here is a brief summary to get you caught up. Awhile back I stumbled upon this website which inspired me to write my own anonymous love letters to strangers and leave them in random places for people to find. So far, I have left 3 letters. Yesterday, I wrote 3 more letters which I still need to disburse. I'm posting my own letters on the blog so you can get an idea of what to write in case you feel inspired to write some of your own.

Above, are the three envelopes that the letters are in. Nothing fancy, just plain old text.

Above:  two of the letters. (I do my best to write something different each time)

The third letter.

It is limitless how many different ways you can express love to a stranger. And by writing these anonymous love letters, you are creating positivity and putting it out into the universe. It's a win-win.

Love Letters Left Behind

Hello lovely, lovely, awesome people. Isn't love grand? Even more grand is proof that love exists through confessions jotted down in letters. Have you ever stumbled upon a box of romantic love letters that belonged to someone you knew? I once spotted a box of letters that belonged to my mom which were sent to her from my dad while he was in the army. I never read them, and sadly, I believe those letters were lost in a move back in the 1980's. My mom and dad were divorced when I was ten years old, and my dad has since passed away, but I would love to have had those letters passed down to me. But I digress.

I stumbled upon a website the other day called globalloveletters.com. After browsing the site and watching the videos they posted, I felt truly inspired to write my own love letters anonymously to complete strangers.  Yesterday, I wrote my first letter and left it at the grocery store for someone to find. Oh how I wish I had access to a hidden camera to catch the reaction of the person fortunate to open the envelope.

I'm not sure if anyone saw me leave it in the basket. I hope not. 

I wrote another letter today but haven't placed it anywhere yet. Here's today's letter.

So what do you think?  Would you be curious enough to open an envelope that said, "Open Me"?

I encourage you to check out the Global Love Letters website. Maybe it will inpire you as well.

I wish all of you much love and a warm heart.

<3 JarieLyn

Update:  Last night at dinner I decided to leave the above letter for our waitress. She was awesome.

Doggone Postal Delivery!

I love sending and receiving snail mail, but one of my passions is collecting vintage postcards. There are many reasons for the WHY of my postal hobby, but it's hard to explain to non-mail enthusiasts the signifigance of a postmarked card that is handwritten with a note. Even if the note is brief, you still feel the love that went into it. I mean, the writer had to etch out some time to write which means he/she was thinking about the recipient. A postcard can show the sense of humor of the sender and the writing can elude to the personality of the person. More than that though, the writer is recording a specific moment in time, making a historical record of his environment. That's why postcards are like little treasures to me. It makes me imagine the lives of the people who corresponded with one another. 

Currently, I have over 4,000 vintage postcards. Yes, I know. I'm a little crazy. I recently obtained the ones in the above photo and they are currently my faves. They are so cute. I get tickled every time I look at them. Don't they make you smile too?

I love the wit in this one. This postcard is over 100 years old. 

Sniff! Sniff!

Darling, I'm lonely without you. Wish you were here.

This is the one that drew me in. So sad looking. This is my favorite one because of the note on the other side. See for yourself.

Postmarked March 24, 1910.

To: Miss Christina Anderson

City

The note reads: I guess this is pretty true. Arthur

I think he must have had a crush on Christina who may or may not have returned his feelings.

I feel bad for him and I wonder if he ever wrote to Christina again or if she wrote to him. 

I sure wish more people today wrote letters, especially love letters. I am a romantic at heart and I am crazy about love letters. My first boyfriend wrote me love letters all the time. I guess I miss that.

Love to all, XOXO...........