Mail Love Chronicles II: The Joy of LetterMo

Today’s blog post comes from Keeks, a LetterMo member in the USA, who writes about her experiences with sending letters. This blog is Part II of II.

Hello Again! 

I realize it has been some time since I last wrote to the LetterMo community. Does that ever happen to you when you are writing your penpals? That delay because life where you are builds up under your feet, and carries you away from the friends you have through ink? 

During my long days at work or away from my studio, I dream about those moments when I can sit down and write to a penpal, my penpal. Those moments can be a quick notecard. A long drawn out letter, sometimes a month of writing over multiple nights, because I just have so much to say, or nothing at all, and I keep writing. The letter can be on a napkin or two, random bits of paper I find while traveling around, or just a plain piece of paper because that is all I had around and felt the need to write. 

Who else feels the pressure to make each letter magnificent? I know I have, and it has caused me to have writer’s block due to the pressure I put on myself. When, instead, I just need to write my penpals because they are waiting to hear from me, hopefully with patience. All you truly need is a pen or pencil and some paper. 

Reading is one of my hobbies, and it makes sense that I also adore sitting down and reading letters from my penpals. LetterMo has introduced me to several people whom I have continued to correspond with, and I am so very grateful for their friendship through the post. There are times I do not know what I would have done without them during some dark moments and rough patches. Should I instead have journaled? Maybe so, but I chose to pen a friend. 

To me, there is nothing more magical than sitting down with a letter from a friend and being captivated by the musings and narrative of their life. I have generally never seen these people in person. I don’t know what their homes look like, their towns, and the only way I can see is through their eyes. I do not have my own perception of the environment or habits my penpal experiences. Even the everyday routine, which you may think is boring to put on paper, is very interesting as a reader to get to know this friend, whom they have through mail only. When my penpal tells me about their day, I am imagining those details written and filling in the gaps not written about.

LetterMo, if you let it, can give you a love of connecting through the written word in a much deeper way than postcards alone. You can give your letters a touch of your own life by picking out little bits and bobs from your day or little adventures and add them to the envelope. Maybe you went to a restaurant that had their own specially printed napkins and had a lovely dinner out—SEND THAT! Did you go to a cafe that had business cards or stickers out to snag? Well, grab that and tell your penpal about the treat you got yourself! These little snapshots into your day helps build that relationship through the distance. Little items that made you think: they may like those. 

Let me close by saying I am fascinated by post. Whether it be letters or postcards, it sparks joy for me and hopefully for the person I am writing. A postcard swapping platform like Postcrossing is great for a noncommittal connection. LetterMo is for when you are ready to have a bit of a deeper connection with an individual and write routinely.

Be careful. You never know what will happen when that first letter arrives; they may be your friend for life. 

Take care and bye for now, 

Keeks W. 

P.S. As a kind reminder, you do not need to have fancy paper or fancy pens to be someone’s penpal. You also don’t always have to use the fancy paper or the fancy pens, even if you do have them. 

Follow Keeks on Instagram @keekspostalservice or subscribe to her YouTube @KeeksPostalService for more ideas.