Confessions of a Card Hoarder
Letter writing and sending cards has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. Our extended family is geographically distant, so visits during childhood were few and far between (and I can't blame my parents--they were raising 6 of us!). There were always birthday cards, holiday cards, and thank you cards to send and receive; I was my mom's designated annual Christmas letter scribe :-). I remember having pen pals, and writing to cousins I had only met once or twice but had a lot in common with. I also remember writing letters to aunts and uncles as I got older and went to college, just to stay in touch and keep them updated on my life, since this was when the world was still getting used to computers, let alone internet and email! Soon enough, snail mail was hitting closer to home when I had siblings and in-laws in the military and I enjoyed sending them letters, cards, even pressed leaves one autumn to remind them of home in the northeast, especially when deployed overseas in Germany, Japan, and Afghanistan, or sailing the seven seas on a frigate or an aircraft carrier.
I still have many of the cards and letters sent to me beginning in my childhood (I blame my mother--she has an extensive collection of cards as well!). Cards from my parents during my college and graduate school years strengthened me in difficult academic and personal struggles. Knowing their prayers, and those of many others, were lifted up for me was, and continues to be, heartwarming.
Then the circle started anew. My own wedding invitations were all sent by mail, then the ensuing thank you cards. Not too long after that, birth announcements for my twins, and then my younger son, were mailed out. My kids now write their own thank you cards for friends and family, keep up with pen pals, and send notes to their grandparents, both on the east coast where I grew up, and to my in-laws in Mexico.
I have made ring-bound books of my cards so I can look at them and feel the love behind each and every one whenever I need a boost. I especially treasure the ones I have saved from my own adult life milestones, including my wedding cards and my first mother's day cards, and also those of my children: the cards received when they were born, those for their baptisms, and for every birthday and holiday thereafter.
Even with email now, it still just feels more personal to send and receive letters and cards in the mail. Handwritten notes are treasures and little bits of tangible love that receivers can hold on to when time and distance separate loved ones.
It is my mission to create cards and stationery for others so that they too may carry on the tradition of mailing their love. And no card or note carries more love than one that is handmade.
--Abby
