National Letter Writing Week

This week is (apparently) National Letter Writing Week. Now, while many of these "national week of whatnot and shindigs" often seem contrived purely for profit...I like this one. Imagine what would happen if for everyday this week you sent one letter. It doesn't have to be a long letter or on monogramed stationary. It doesn't need to be in your best handwriting and it's okay if the cats crumpled up the corner a little when they sat on it while trying to eat your cereal.



Over the past year, one thing I have been trying to do is send a card to each of the grandmas once a month. This should be a very simple task, yet for some reason it becomes almost Herculean at times. The months that I've pulled it off though, I know it's made a difference. I've gotten sincere thanks for the news, the pictures, and more generally, just thinking of them.

As a part of the modern world--overstuffed with emails, text messages, instant messages, and "e-cards"--snail mail can often seem slow. But that is the very charm. For someone to email me on my birthday takes about 2 seconds of effort and most of that was probably remembering that it was my birthday. Now, don't get me wrong, it's still nice to be thought of, but it's just not the same as getting a card. That means, I'm important enough to that person for them to remember in advance.

And picking out "just the perfect card"? Well, that's half the fun (both as giver and receiver!). Personally, I ADORE shopping for cards on Etsy because they are original, fun, and best of all, handmade. And, since I am a member of Etsy Greetings I am constantly seeing beautiful new cards and discovering new card-makers! (For those who want to be "in the know", I'll let you in on my secret, search for "etsygreetings" in the search bar on Etsy to find cards listed by our talented team members.)

In fact, one of our members, Katydiddy, is holding a contest on her blog this week in celebration of it being National Letter Writing Week. Simply hop right on over here and leave a comment to be entered to win some of her sweet cards!

As for me? I think I'm going to dip into my stash of gorgeous, handmade cards and send off some love this week.