Ah, technology. When it’s running smoothly, life is good. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Skype, iTunes, You Tube, email, IM’s, blogs, games, news, videos…..whew, I need to take a break! Which is what I did, not voluntarily, mind you. My borrowed laptop crashed, and let’s just say the last week has been difficult.
Okay, that’s an understatement. I mean really, I had to write out my thoughts and ideas on actual paper. Paper?!? Do you know how hard it was to find paper around here? Or a pen, for that matter? I’m not really sure I can decipher the chicken scratch that has become my handwriting.
What did we do without computers and the internet and the instant gratification of talking with near strangers in real-time? It’s amazing, really, to think that we, as a civilization, have lasted as long as we have without such technology. Pony express? Please! Could you even begin to wait months for news from around the world?
What about letters, news from family and friends? Does anyone even have pen pals anymore? I mean real, honest to goodness, write the letter, lick the envelope, and wait for a reply, pen pals? I used to when I was a kid. I remember writing long letters of not much consequence to a school friend that had moved away. Several of us went the international route, writing letters to kids in other countries. We would learn about life outside the confines of our small town, only to find out our pen pal’s life wasn’t much different from our own.
My son’s class had a project last year to write letters to service men and women overseas. The kids were in high hopes of receiving answers to their letters. It was very exciting for them, imagining a soldier on the other side of the world, reading their attempts at written conversation. Even I was excited, as I secretly longed for my own pen pal. Unfortunately, none of the kids received a response.
Is writing a letter so passé that it’s no longer a viable form of communication? I have my sons write letters to Grandpa in Chicago. He’s “old school”, as they say – 70 years old and not one for modern technology. While he enjoys receiving these prize bits of literary genius, he’s not one to reciprocate. All of his cards read plainly, “Love, Papa”. Still, he sends cards for all the occasions, and the boys are usually in quite a tizzy over snail mail deliveries, however sparse.
As a kid, my mom used to make me and my brothers write something in all the cards exchanged for birthdays and holidays. “Love, Me” wasn’t going to cut it, especially to the grandparents we didn’t see very often. No logging onto Facebook to watch us growing up. We had to write about the things we were doing in school, on summer vacation and with our friends. We also included photos of ourselves, usually picked up from the local Walgreen’s. The kind of photos you had to wait to have developed, no digital images back then.
As many of you know, I am currently living in the PICU of our local children’s hospital with my youngest son. We are away from friends and family. I was quite upset to have my only form of communication taken from me. What was I going to do without it? How was I going to keep in touch with my boys or provide updates on how Capt Snuggles was doing? Well, I went a whole week without leaving (or receiving) snarky comments on Facebook. I couldn’t Tweet about my latest run-in with the cafeteria staff. No instant chats or lengthy emails to respond to. I had no blog postings. But, I do have a whole notebook of thoughts and ideas for future blogs.
I wandered down to the gift shop and found notecards to share some of my thoughts with the boys at home. They now have something tangible, a reminder of this time apart. I had to re-learn the fine art of penmanship. Where’s the spell check and backspace key when you need it?
I survived my week without technology. It was only lonely on my end. The boys didn’t notice much of a difference – they still had access to their computers. They keep in touch with cousins, aunts and uncles, even Grandma can be found on FB! A few extra phone calls and snail mail from me was a novel way to spend the week. They eventually wanted to know when I’d be back online, though. Would we really want to go back to a life without technology?
While I’d like to think the fine art of letters will come back into style, we’re much too impatient. As a society, we all want instant gratification. The boys like snail mail, but they still want to chat with me on Facebook or play games together online – a note in a brightly colored card doesn’t take the place of real-time communications.
How does your family keep in touch with one another? Could you survive without the internet? When was the last time you received a hand written letter?
This is an original post written for World Moms Blog by Amy Hillis from Ohio, USA. When not teaching her sons the fine art of penmanship, Amy can be found wandering the internet at her website, Transplanted Thoughts, and on Twitter @transplantedx3 .
Photo credit to http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachdavies/4757482724/. This photo has a creative commons attribution license.
Amy Hillis (USA)
Amy is a native Chicagoan that currently resides just outside of Cincinnati, OH. A city girl, through and through, she’s still adjusting to small town life. Amy has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art with a minor in French from Elmhurst College. She was working on her Master’s degree at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, when she became pregnant with her 3rd child. Although this angel boy was only here for a very short time – he left quite a legacy. Nathaniel was born with a rare genetic disorder called Citrullinemia. Amy and her husband, James, went on to have 4 more boys, 3 of whom were also born with Citrullinemia. In January 2011, her youngest son, David passed away from complications of a liver transplant performed to 'cure' the Citrullinemia. Now a stay-home mom of 5, she started blogging in October 2010, while David was still in the hospital. Two of her other sons have had successful liver transplants to cure their genetic disorders. Her 2 older children still live in Chicago. When not hanging out with her kids, she spends her ‘me’ time writing, sewing, reading & walking. Amy also spends a generous amount of time online. She can be found on Twitter @transplantedx3. On Facebook and on her Website <a href="http://mytearstainedlife.com"My Tear-Stained Life
Follow Me:
I can only guess how frustrated you must have felt being “cut off” from the world like that. I am almost addicted to the internet and all that goes with it – I have email and internet on my phone so I get notified instantly when I receive any kind of message – not sure this is healthy, I should really try to put the phone down…
I also used to have pen friends, I used to write to my cousins and I also had “international”-pen friends. I had almost forgotten about that until I read your article! Can’t remember the last time I sat down to write an “old fashioned” letter though – my hand starts to hurt if I use a pen for too long, and I can hardly read my own writing!
Good to hear that you are “online” again though!
Asta
Asta,
I think most people would be hard-pressed to be without the internet for any length of time. It has just become so much a part of everyday life. Isn’t it funny that writing letters, something that has been around forever is now considered “old fashioned”? I read an article about the US postal service posting an $8.5 billion loss last year. It’s mind-boggling that the whole world has just about given up that form of communication. There’s just no going back.
Have a good day!
Amy
Amy,
My husband and I dated for a year a year and 3/4’s transatlantic. We have two big sacs of letters — one of all the letters he wrote to me, and the other, of all the letters I wrote to him. If they had just been e-mails, I’m sure we wouldn’t have saved them! Every once in a while we get them out and go through them, and it’s really romantic. But, it’s been a VERY long time, years, since we’ve had a chance to do that!
Also, when I turned 30 I wrote a letter to myself for when I turn 40. Corny, right? I also write letters to my daughter to put away for when she gets older.
But, in the end, I find writing to be good therapy, whether it’s pen or keyboard. And, the documentation makes it easier to reflect on life and look forward, or just really laugh at yourself!
I’m glad that you posted this!! Great job! I am really wishing that you and your son are home from the hospital and well soon!
Veronica Samuels
Veronica ~ What a wonderful idea! I never thought about writing to my future self. I have thought about putting letters aside for the kids, but for me, if I’m not in the mind set of actually writing (on paper)that it just gets pushed to the side like so many other good ideas!
Writing is such good therapy ~ I’m quite happy I started, I know the kids will enjoy these blurbs about their life when they’re older.
Thank you for starting this blog and letting me write~I am excited to be a part of this.
Amy
I do love the idea of writing letters to a future self and for the kids…hadn’t thought of that – thanks for the idea 🙂
My husband and I had a long-distance relationship our junior and senior years of college – I have all the letters he sent me save too! Sometimes I remind him I wouldn’t mind getting a letter like that every once in a while, but the closest I get to that is a card for my birthday or Mother’s Day.
Transplanted,
Great topic and great post! Like Asta, i’m also addicted to the net! it’s quite scary to think that not only do we live in a socitey fo instant gratification, as you stated, but our children are growing up with this as if it’s normal. More often than not I have to tear my pre-teen daughter away from the computer, laptop, ipad or cell phone.
Veronica-what a cool idea of writing a letter to yourself, it’s like your own personal message in a bottle. I agree, writing is wonderful therapy.
Transplanted, I hope you and your son will be home soon.
xxjenny
Jenny, thank you for the kind thoughts~ my boys are quite hooked on their computer time as well. Although they fuss about their time restrictions, they are only allowed a short time each day, otherwise they’d be on there forever!
take care~Amy
No way would I survive without the Internet. Not a chance. I do find, though, that when I need to communicate something that is emotionally charged, or psychologically difficult, I do it better in writing. Actual writing, as opposed to typing. For some reason, it makes it more real.
Veronica, I love the idea of a letter to yourself – it’s a bit like a time capsule!
Amy, I wish you and your son all the best and hope you can get home soon!
Kirsten
Kirsten ~ you’re right about emotional writing ~ I do better if I work it out on paper first.
Isn’t it funny how something we didn’t have 10-15 years ago is now so ingrained in our lives?
take care~Amy
Amy ~ Spell check on written letters… that made me chuckle! Today during our home-school morning lesson I wrote down words that start with the letter “H,” it is a our letter of the week. I got out our dictionary and introduced it to my daughters.
I am with you on the old school tradition of writing. My 5-year-old has 3 groups of pen pals that live in different states. She sends them care package and little notes. She absolutely loves getting mail, especially if it is a singing card! ha! We must have a whole drawer full of singing cards!
Also, she (and I) sent a care package to a solider overseas. He is a brother to a good friend of mine. We never heard if he got it. My daughter asks me at the most random times if he got the package. Funny how things stick with them. Even at the age of five she is looking for some validation!
I am a real stickler for writing thank you cards. I have my oldest daughter always sign her name. For her birthday this year she actually wrote out her own thank you letters. She had to write 12, I was so proud of her!
I am sure your boys will love any notes you give them. I leave notes in my husbands luggage when he travels for business. Even when I went away to St. Thomas to my girlfriends wedding in May I left my husband and girls a note for them to open each day that I was away. My husband said the first day I was gone when they read the note they all got misty eyed. Ah, the power of the pen!!
Amy ~ Spell check on written letters… that made me chuckle! Today during our home-school morning lesson I wrote down words that start with the letter “H,” it is a our letter of the week. I got out our dictionary and introduced it to my daughters.
I am with you on the old school tradition of writing. My 5-year-old has 3 groups of pen pals that live in different states. She sends them care package and little notes. She absolutely loves getting mail, especially if it is a singing card! ha! We must have a whole drawer full of singing cards!
Also, she (and I) sent a care package to a solider overseas. He is a brother to a good friend of mine. We never heard if he got it. My daughter asks me at the most random times if he got the package. Funny how things stick with them. Even at the age of five she is looking for some validation!
I am a real stickler for writing thank you cards. I have my oldest daughter always sign her name. For her birthday this year she actually wrote out her own thank you letters. She had to write 12, I was so proud of her!
I am sure your boys will love any notes you give them. I leave notes in my husbands luggage when he travels for business. Even when I went away to St. Thomas to my girlfriends wedding in May I left my husband and girls a note for them to open each day that I was away. My husband said the first day I was gone when they read the note they all got misty eyed. Ah, the power of the pen!!
Courtney ~ I was thinking a dictionary would make the boys a lovely Christmas present this year! When my 2 older kids were younger, I used to put little notes in their lunch boxes each day. We were sorting books and things, getting ready to move and I found my oldest son had tucked several of those notes into books for safe keeping. Amazing what kids decide to hang on to!
Take care~Amy
How cute is that, Courtney? You left them a note every day you were away…I must steal that idea if I’m ever away! I love it!!
Dictionary is a great idea, Amy!
Veronica Samuels
Loved the post Amy – made me think about lots of things. I do remember having a pen pal in Australia when I was little. The cool thing is she tracked me down on FB and now we still keep in touch 🙂
As for handwritten letters, I wish I had time – the closest I get to that is a thank you note or my holiday cards. Now that we have kids, we do photo cards for the holidays, but I intentionally don’t get a pre-written message on them so that I can write a note and sign them myself.
Thanks Eva ~ That’s the neat thing about FB ~ finding people you never thought you’d find again! I do write notes in my Holiday cards, too. I think it’s nice to catch up the extended family on what the family is doing.
Loved the post Amy – made me think about lots of things. I do remember having a pen pal in Australia when I was little. The cool thing is she tracked me down on FB and now we still keep in touch 🙂
As for handwritten letters, I wish I had time – the closest I get to that is a thank you note or my holiday cards. Now that we have kids, we do photo cards for the holidays, but I intentionally don’t get a pre-written message on them so that I can write a note and sign them myself.
Thanks Eva ~ That’s the neat thing about FB ~ finding people you never thought you’d find again! I do write notes in my Holiday cards, too. I think it’s nice to catch up the extended family on what the family is doing.
Transplanted~Did you read ” Daddy Long Legs”? you can tell my age he he~ I was inspired by the book and I used to send postcards and letters to my parents. But that was a long time ago before e-mails. Old fashioned or whatever there is something about handwritings that can’t beat e-mail. I absolutely agree for handwritings, I encouraged my children to write a short note on a postcard when we traveled, but they are the generation of e-mail and Facebook. I am friend with my daughter on Facebook, but not yet with my husband:) And as for myself, I am a heavy user of I-Chat with my parents and e-mail with my brother.
Hi Sunny~
I did read it along time ago, about the young woman who wrote letters to her mystery benefactor. Seems, I’m not much younger ;D
I think I want to find the boys pen pals and get them interested in non-internet communication. I think it’s worth keeping the spirit of letters alive!
~Amy
Hi Sunny~
I did read it along time ago, about the young woman who wrote letters to her mystery benefactor. Seems, I’m not much younger ;D
I think I want to find the boys pen pals and get them interested in non-internet communication. I think it’s worth keeping the spirit of letters alive!
~Amy
Thanks to everyone who commented~ I am quite pleased with the way today’s comment chat went! I can’t wait to read more of everyone’s posts! Till next time, Ladies!
Thanks to everyone who commented~ I am quite pleased with the way today’s comment chat went! I can’t wait to read more of everyone’s posts! Till next time, Ladies!