I recently received a greeting through mail in the form of a postcard from a friend that I met on a mission in San Francisco more than five years ago. It got me to thinking—what happened to the joy of sending and receiving mail?
How excited I was to receive this cute two-sided greeting from someone I had not seen in a while, but chat with occasional via social and text. The idea that she took the time to send me this personal note for no reason other than to say, “Hey, how’s it going,” truly made my day! As a collector of greeting cards and other stationery items, I couldn’t help but wonder about what the forgotten art of sending sweet little notes and thoughtful greetings via snail mail. In our fast-moving culture, some things have fallen off our radar.
However, some things are just so important that we must take the time to include them in our busy schedules, not for what they can do for us, but the joy they may bring to the receiver. With email, social media, Skype and other virtual ways of staying connected, there are so many missed opportunities to make someone’s day with a special mail delivery.
So for my latest mission I visited one of my favorite stationery stores, Paper Source. Not only did I discover some cool new things to put on my radar (and yours) but I had a chance to chat with a Paper Source store manager in Phoenix, Arizona about how we’ve lost the personal touch in how we communicate today versus sending personalized notes and greetings via snail mail. She recollected the pleasantry of receiving greetings in the mail:
I think it’s completely changed the way that we communicate with each other. I can’t remember the last time I sent someone a letter. But when I was a kid that was the best—my grandmother would send me hand-written letters all the time and I still have them. So I feel like it’s something that’s kind of lost in our generation just because it’s so easy to type an email. But I feel like it’s so much less personal. – Evelyn Weaver, Paper Source Store Manager
It was hard not to feel nostalgic while perusing the colorful store, chock full of birthday greetings and thank you cards. The next time you want to send someone a note, for whatever reason, give them a big surprise and send it the old-fashioned way—by mail. Hearing those three little words “You’ve got mail” might be all that’s needed to perk up someone’s day, especially when it’s a greeting from someone special.
Here are a few cool finds at the Paper Source store and papersource.com:
Holla! It’s Your Birthday Greeting Card | Typewriter A2 ‘Thank You’ Notes | Vintages Postcards for New York, San Francisco, London, and Paris
