Pen Pals

When I was young, I remember being away from my friends during the summer. I spent the summers with my grandparents while some of my friends were at summer camp and others were at secret hideways. As we got older, we gladly went off to summer school (yes, I was that dorky) and explored the worlds beyond our sheltered home.

And all the while, we wrote letters. There were postcards and letters. My very oldest friend and I kept this practice up into college -- though it converted to emails rather than letters in the mail. But, there is something about getting mail. There is something about choosing the appropriate stationary and writing a letter. Perhaps it is to tell someone that you miss them or that you are thinking of them. Perhaps it is a birthday card. Perhaps it is just a note to say hi.

Today I received a letter like that in the mail. I have two friends who loathe the phone as much as I do (yes, that's why I don't call you unless I have had three glasses of wine). It doesn't mean that we don't miss each other or think of each other often. We do. And because we do -- and we love writing letters -- we have decided to be pen pals. One of my pen pals sent me a letter today. She's dating someone new she tells me. Things will be twice as magical and wonderful by the time I get her reply to my letter. And I'm just so tickled for her -- and her beautiful stationary. Oh! I just love my pen pals so much!