Words Make a Difference!
As a kid, I had a number of “Pen Pals.” Do you remember those? I connected with them via a newsletter where we could put our names/addresses if we wanted to connect with other kids. I got my name on that list, started receiving letters and I reached out to other kids, too. I probably had ten to fifteen (maybe more) “Pen Pals”, and while I never met any of them in person, there was one girl who stood out to me above all the others. To this day, I still remember her - Donna - from Kingston, Jamaica. I don’t recall how long we were in touch, but I loved reading her letters! She was my favorite “Pen Pal.”
As a youth, I remember writing letters to Grandma, handing out Valentine’s to my friends and writing cards for Birthday’s and at Christmas. Writing was, back then, a “way of life,” so to speak, and was a meaningful way to communicate. I remember receiving letters back from Grandma, with her scratchy cursive, sometimes having to decipher what she wrote, but I loved it!
With the arrival of the internet and email, writing letters took a swift kick to the back of the line. After all, email was not only faster, it was free (no postage)!
However, being the “old school” gal that I am, I didn’t throw away writing altogether and as an adult I send cards to friends and family, and sometimes even complete strangers. That may seem odd, but there was a reason each time I did it.
I am a horse racing fan and when the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro, died in 2007 due to complications from an injury, I wrote a letter to his owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, sharing with them what Barbaro meant to me and how his story inspired me. Gretchen wrote me back, thanking me for my thoughtful letter! I still have the card she sent me, carefully sealed in a plastic bag.
In 2009, I wrote a letter to a stranger that changed my life. In addition to horse racing, I am also a horse show jumping fan and I live only a day’s drive from Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alberta. It’s one of my favorite places on earth! I wrote a letter to founder and co-chair, Ron Southern, thanking him for putting show jumping on the map in Western Canada. He wrote me back inviting me and my guest to attend the North American Tournament in 2010 as VIP guests of Spruce Meadows! To me, a little “nobody” in Regina, Saskatchewan, this was incredible! I took my mom and we had a fabulous weekend together! That trip became incredibly meaningful in 2011 when I unexpectedly lost my mom to cancer. That trip to Spruce Meadows was our last vacation together, all because Ron Southern wrote me a letter inviting us to come. Ron’s letter changed my life, and it began because I wrote him to say a simple, “thank you.”
My encouragement to you is to grab a pen, paper, or card and write a heartfelt letter or note to someone. It may be to reconnect, say “thank you” or just to let them know that you appreciate them. Trust me, words make a difference and you have the power to change someone’s life today.
Recommended Resources
- Amazon and Chapters have card sets for reasonable prices.
- For letters, search Amazon for “Vintage Lined Stationary Paper for Writing Letters”
Monthly Challenge
- Choose five people to whom you will write to this month.
- On your social media, post a message to your followers asking if they would like to receive a card from you, and then send them one.