A few days ago, on Facebook  I posted a re-run blog that I wrote 2 years ago.  It was about writing letters, long ago, back when I used to write a great deal of them.  I just loved corresponding in this way!  When I began writing letters, I was in high school.  I had pen pals from other countries, but most of them didn’t write much in their letters and/or quit entirely.   

However, I had one pen pal with whom I corresponded for years, even after I was married.  That made our relationship so special.  I had only met him once when I was 17, and over the years we developed a wonderful relationship through all of our long, newsy missives.  So much so, that even when life events caused us to lose contact, we were able to find each other again.

At present, I already have a young friend with whom I correspond, that I enjoy very much. I worked at the school she attended and I tutored her.  She is a lovely young woman and we truly enjoy this experience.  

Now, I am about to have a new pen pal, one who lives far away, on another continent.  A young woman, who I became acquainted with on Facebook, and I have decided to write letters to each other.  She wanted to be Facebook friends in order to help her learn English.  So we messaged each other back and forth, which recently culminated in a very long “chat” on Messenger.  I am really excited to begin this journey with her.  The words we write and send to another person are a treasure to keep, and return to again whenever we choose.  It is a tangible communication and that makes it special.  It’s like having a souvenir from a memorable event.  But it is so much more personal.

I look forward to corresponding with this young woman and learning about her and her country.  We are going to become pen pals starting tomorrow when I write to her for the first time.  She is the same age as my oldest granddaughter.  I am eager to learn more about my new friend  and I really want to get to know her.  I want to travel to her country someday.  But, for now, the journey will begin with a pen and paper.  Then the written words will be folded and tucked into a stamped envelope, which will travel the many miles between us. And hopefully, sometime in the future we will meet face-to-face.  And that will make me so very happy.