For the past couple of weeks, our son, Jon returned from Ecuador and Peru to travel through the west coast on his own. He sent texts, e-mails and occasionally called his sister and us because he knows I'll panic if he doesn't.
Therefore we were surprised to receive these postcards every so many days from places he was stopping at. We also received postcards from Art's sister. Our daughter also has our granddaughter sending postcards when they go on trips.
Isn't it funny, that these postcards can give you such a lift? In fact, I'm going to scan them so I can refer to them whenever I want to.
Mom just showed me a letter I must have written around 1977. I'm guessing that because I don't mention Jon in it. Since I never write in Japanese anymore, I could hardly read the extremely simple, badly written letter. Phone calls back then from Chicago to Hawaii were expensive so I had to write to mom in Japanese which taxed every bit of my precious few brain cells.
I wrote how Art and I had both been sick and that little Tiffany wasn't happy about me being in bed so much. My friend, Diane was getting married and would be wearing my wedding dress so I was asking mom if my veil was at home in Hawaii. I said our bank account emptied out every time we returned to Hawaii. Tiffany was a tough little girl (nicknamed Tough Tif) and rarely cried but if somebody hurt her, she would scream bloody murder. I mentioned that my friend, Peggy and I were having a garage sale. I said I was happy in Illinois.
It's all there. As I struggled to read this letter that I wrote 35 years ago, it brought it all back. Do I even know where the e-mails I wrote 5 years ago are? They're gone. But the letters remain.
And these postcards will remain too, in my heart and in my hand.
Therefore we were surprised to receive these postcards every so many days from places he was stopping at. We also received postcards from Art's sister. Our daughter also has our granddaughter sending postcards when they go on trips.
Isn't it funny, that these postcards can give you such a lift? In fact, I'm going to scan them so I can refer to them whenever I want to.
Mom just showed me a letter I must have written around 1977. I'm guessing that because I don't mention Jon in it. Since I never write in Japanese anymore, I could hardly read the extremely simple, badly written letter. Phone calls back then from Chicago to Hawaii were expensive so I had to write to mom in Japanese which taxed every bit of my precious few brain cells.
I wrote how Art and I had both been sick and that little Tiffany wasn't happy about me being in bed so much. My friend, Diane was getting married and would be wearing my wedding dress so I was asking mom if my veil was at home in Hawaii. I said our bank account emptied out every time we returned to Hawaii. Tiffany was a tough little girl (nicknamed Tough Tif) and rarely cried but if somebody hurt her, she would scream bloody murder. I mentioned that my friend, Peggy and I were having a garage sale. I said I was happy in Illinois.
It's all there. As I struggled to read this letter that I wrote 35 years ago, it brought it all back. Do I even know where the e-mails I wrote 5 years ago are? They're gone. But the letters remain.
And these postcards will remain too, in my heart and in my hand.
some times the old ways are better, that's lovely to have these memories,
ReplyDeleteInteresting memories from the past, in Japanese no less!
ReplyDeleteHow great to have that letter that let you go back to that day in your life. My kids and grandkids write thank you notes for gifts but that is the about the only written correspondence we do these day.
ReplyDeleteI have a drawer filled with mementos like your mom's letter. Postcards, letters, little notes that meant something to me. I can't bear to throw them out, and as you point out most of us don't have any new ones. Everything is electronic now.
ReplyDeleteMy mother had three folders for each of her children. They had letters and cards we had sent to them through the years. When she gave me mine, it was like reading a journal. I never realized I had written to them so much.
ReplyDeleteWhen Son #1 was away at college, I kept a binder with the printed emails we sent back and forth. After he graduated (but before we gave the binder to him) I re-read everything and was amazed at all the things I'd forgotten.
ReplyDeletethere is something nostalgic about old letters and postcards. I have a paper valentine I gave my mom when I was about 8 or 10 years ago. It's precious and she preserved it forever!
ReplyDeleteHaha. When I was living in New York, I remember writing my grandmother a letter in English, using Korean characters. How silly! Don't know if she comprehended it. I think it is wonderful that your mother saved your letter. How sweet of her! I have not saved any letters or postcards over the years and probably won't in the future. I guess I am just not sentimental...
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice surprise receiving those postcards from your son!!! I used to write letters to my Nana in Colorado after she moved there. When she passed away, she had saved every one of them!! Such treasures. I'm afraid our grandchildren won't have these keepsakes because of the electronic world of today!
ReplyDeleteI too love cards and postcards. I have a small Edwardian "letter Holder" from my grandfather, and in it I have the best of the cards and postcards I've received over the years. It's on a little shelf, and I often change the display so I can enjoy these special cards sent so long ago and kept.
ReplyDeleteEmail and letters: I buy an archival box every year. I print out the special email and save these with cards and letters and a disc of that year's journal in the box. My kids will probably throw everything away, but I feel complete this way.
I am sentimental and keep every piece of art work and card. The longer time passes the harder it is to throw them away. I know I will be keeping them forever since they can never be replaced.
ReplyDeleteSending cards or giving money in a card is still very apropos. Plus there are cards that play music or can be personalized digitally, so with that twist I believe the "old school" card business is here to stay. I prefer handmade ones the best though, especially artwork and messages from our children.
I have a can of stuff from my childhood which I recently found but haven't had the time to look through. Now with your post, you have reminded me (and prepared me) for the joy (or shock) it will bring lol
L. from W.
My mother actually still has every letter I've written to her. Shocking!
DeleteI wrote to my grandfather often in very rudimentary hiragana/katakana. He wrote back as simple as he could, no kanji. I'm hoping those letters from him are what I kept in that box. I can imagine your mother reading your letters often when you were away. You are right and I agree...the old way has its merits. Copying an email from a person is just not the same. Handwritten is the best.
DeleteL. from W.
I actually save notes, comments and emails from my blog friends et al. They mean a lot to me
ReplyDeleteSomewhere (and I wish I could figure out where "somewhere" is) I have old letters and postcards. You're right, they bring the past back to us in a way e-mail just can't do.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am slow to delete the e-mails I receive. It must be the same instinct that made me save letters and postcards.
I loved the glimpse into your life in Chicago, especially "Tough Tiff"! Wonderful!
K
postcards were the original tweets. I'm mean the brevity.
ReplyDeleteSo very true. I never thought of them that way, but it's true.
DeleteHENRY HANK CHAPIN
ReplyDeleteWhen I graduated from high school my greatest wish, which I accomplished, was to hitchhike to California. My grandmother gave me a bunch of "penny postcards" addressed to her. She told me I didn't need to write anything. If I put them in the mail, the postmark would tell me where I had been.
I also collect 19th century letters. You are correct, the letters are still here but where are the e-mails? One interesting tidbit I remember from an 1842 letter (well before Lincoln was President) is by a man complaining that all the politicians are claiming they were born in a log cabin!
Also, paper must have been scarce, as a significant portion of them are written with "cross writing." First you write the first half of the letter and then you turn it so that you write the rest of the letter in the spaces between the lines. They are rather hard to read today, but people must have been able to do it then. Also they didn't use envelopes. They had a way of taking the letter and folding it up into a mailable shape and sealing it with wax.
I was always a great correspondent and most people couldn't keep up with me, so I was continually being disappointed. When I met Helen, however, she also was a prolific letter writer so we clicked on that along with everything else.
No wonder Helen loved you so much. :-)
DeleteI have the letters I wrote to my mother on those flimsy overseas mailers when I lived in Switzerland. It was too expensive to phone more than every once in a while and something we did only for emergencies.
ReplyDeleteFor the longest time, I couldn't convince mom that it was alright to send a letter in a regular envelope instead of those aerograms. When they stopped printing them, I could finally force her to write letters to be mailed in regular envelopes.
DeleteA wonderful meditation on correspondence, Kay. Such a dear letter to hold today: yours to your Mom so long ago. . . memory is precious. BTW, your Gmail should theoretically be searchable for years! But yes. . . emails are truly gone is a way an old postcard never will be...
ReplyDeleteAloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
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I don't remember if ever I wrote anything to anybody..I was never away from home and after marriage almost everyday talked home over the telephone and e-mail was always there and nowadays with skype you don't even have to use the e-mail..but I do envy your nostalgic collection..
ReplyDeleteThats so cool that she kept all your letters! I'm usually not the type to keep stuff like that but it might be a different story if my baby girl writes me a letter when she grows up:)
ReplyDeleteShaka sherry
We keep all the thank you notes my kids and granddaughter send us.
DeleteKay - Where did YOU learn the Japanese writing? Was this taught at all in a school in Hawaii, or did you learn it totally from your parents? Has Art done any Japanese writing?Yes, I like paper too. I just can't trust that a computer will keep everything. DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteI went to after-school Japanese School that was run by the Buddhist temple. The girls tried to study the language. The boys went to .........ah.......... suffice to say Art didn't manage to learn the language. And no, definitely... neither Art nor my brother can write any Japanese.
DeleteMy father spent most of the week on the road traveling for business. As a result I only saw him on weekends. He always sent me postcards from wherever he was, and today I still have that collection of postcards. I also have the letters my Mom and Aunt Marge wrote to me over the years.
ReplyDeleteDianne