Box of Love Letters

Do you remember getting letters in the mail from a friend who lived far away or a cousin or an Aunt? It was so exciting to open the mailbox and see a handwritten address across the front of the envelope. You could usually tell from the handwriting who it was from but you looked at the return address anyway. I remember the anticipation of opening the envelope and taking the letter out. I had to find the right spot in the house to open it so that I could be comfy while I read. Usually I read the letter the first time quickly but then always went and re-read it again savoring the handwritten words.

I have been cleaning out closets, dresser drawers and the basement. I had the fun of "finding" a box of old letters that I kept. They are from my husband. To think that I am one of the lucky few to have a box of love letters! I felt sad for a moment for the relationships today. The age of technology had stolen the art of writing love letters. People are in constant contact with each other with e-mail, text, social media...where's the anticipation of waiting to hear from someone? 

My husband and I had a long-distance relationship and people will ask me, "Was it hard?" I used to say yes. But now, I feel lucky to have gotten to actually know my husband and who he was inside before we got married. We didn't have a lot of dates so we didn't take our time together for granted. Long distance phone calls were expensive (we met in 1989), we didn't have free long distance. So....we wrote a lot of letters! I remember writing a letter a day and I usually got one from him most days of the week.

I treasure these letters. They revealed to me the man that he was and the man that I fell in love with. So my wish to all the young people out there, embarking on new relationships, is that you get love letters. They are a window to a person's soul.