Happy Mail = Smiles! BIG ONES!!!

For the past several months I have been dealing with contradicting emotions on a daily basis... one minute I feel complete happiness from news I have heard and/or shared with family and friends.... the next minute I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum feeling sadness, concern, and/or frustration with other news from family and friends.  This constant swing of emotions can be quite exhausting.... but.... it is the "Out of the Blue" smiles I receive that stay in my memory the longest.

Yesterday I thought I was having a pretty good day..... then.... I received two very unexpected letters in the mail that made me realize I was actually having a GREAT day!!!  I'm still smiling!  Receiving these letters has made me realize and appreciate the simple pleasure of getting "Happy Mail".  I've always enjoyed sending my own "Out of the Blue" happy mail... usually to the younger members of my family and friends... but heck.... us adults need happy mail surprises too!  So.... my quest begins today to send happy mail once a week to various unexpecting recipients!  I'm excited to see how many lives I can touch with a simple little 'thinking of you' note.

Back in the days before computers and the internet was a part of our daily lives, and long distance phone calls were for "Emergencies ONLY" and quite expensive.... I used to write many many letters almost on a daily basis.  It was the only way to really stay connected to friends and family that I moved away from after I was married at the tender young age of 19..... and who even thinks about getting married at 19 these days??? It is rare... and I have a nephew who actually was married this summer and he is only 19.... but again.... it is a rare thing anymore.  Some of those letters still exist here and there.... but most were probably tossed out after the recipient responded/replied.  I myself have very few letters I saved that were sent to me because of the many moves we have made and the purging we have had to do with each move.

Maybe it is because I feel like I'm now living in Norman Rockwell/Mayberry RFD land.... and nostalgia of those long ago letters still brings a smile to my face.... or maybe it is because I'm currently reading the book of Julia Child's and Avis DeVoto's correspondence... or maybe because in this world of technology that most of us live in today has done away with the real written word... but whatever the reason... I want to bring those feelings back to my dear loved ones that only happy mail can bring.  I just remember being excited to check the mail box everyday in hopes that a letter had arrived for me... and now.... going to the mailbox each day is just another chore that needs to be done, to collect the bills that need to be paid and sort through all the junk mail that needs to be tossed.  Having recently experienced how a letter can change your day in an instant and bring a smile to your face is just such a priceless feeling I want to share with others.  With our email and FB mailboxes we delete messages as soon as we respond.... but a letter or a card is something you can hold in your hand to read and re-read as often as you want and get the same warm feelings from over and over.  Sometimes you can actually smell the scent of the person who sent you the happy mail and that makes it all the better too because it makes you feel like the person is actually with you and not miles and miles away!  And I also like seeing the different handwritting  of each person who sends me mail... I like to see how they sign their name... if they add any doodles at the end... such as.... a happy face, a drawing of a flower, a heart, or even a post script of a last minute thought after they have ended their letter.

I remember in grade school when we would actually get assigned a pen pal.... and what fun it was to exchange mail with other kids who we were most likely never going to meet, but felt like you knew them all the same.  Some pen pals actually have met after many years of corresponding.... like Julia Child and Avis DeVoto and remained life long friends whether they met in person or not.  And sometimes writing down your thoughts and feelings to share with someone else is as healing to ourselves as it is to read them from others.

I hope that this plan of mine will spread sunshine to many.... I hope that who ever I may target each week for happy mail, that when the mail arrives it is just the pick up they needed on that day, or that it makes a good day they were already having a better day!

Sincerely, Regards, Always, Love..... or as I like to sign off.... HUGS!!!  V