Writing a Hand-Written Note Still Instills “The Personal Touch”
My wife and I were having a conversation recently. She was in the process of typing up a note to her nephew and his new wife. Once the note was completed, she asked me to review it for my thoughts. I indicated I would be happy to do so. My initial thought was that she would send me the note electronically, ask me to discuss with her any suggested edits I had, and that either she would email the note to the two recipients or that perhaps I would print it out on my home printer, and she would send the typed copy to them.
However, instantly my wife said no, that is not what I want to do. I am typing it out first so I have a copy from which to work. I then want to handwrite the note and mail it to them. After she said that, I said, (and I have said this to her on more than one occasion, “You truly are your mother’s daughter.” And, I did not say that to be wise or sarcastic, but with the sincerest of intentions.
My mother-in-law passed from us almost 4 years ago at this point. She was a remarkable woman in many ways. She passed at the age of 104 in 2017. However, she was very active into her old age, doing the cooking and taking care of her household until her 102nd birthday. While she needed more and more assistance in the last 2 plus years of her life, and ultimately, really could not make stairs anymore, she always was still sharp and aware of what was going on in the world around her and with her family.
I did not first meet my mother-in-law until she was 95 years old, as my wife and I met later in our lives and married in our mid-50’s in 2009. As my wife comes from a large family, (not only her own immediate family, but her extended family), there were a lot of relatives to meet over those early years. Anywhere my wife and I went, ultimately my wife was asked how her mother was doing health wise. Once assured that everything was going well, it became common for the inquisitor to say to my wife, we so enjoy the letters she sends to us. She is so caring in asking about how we are doing, or how our children are doing, or congratulating us on an event in our life. You could tell the recipient, no matter who they were, or from what generation, was extremely moved that someone took the time to write to them.
As I heard this more and more, I asked my wife about it. She said to me my mother’s two main ways of communicating with people were either through letters or by telephone. It was something she had always done, and always with the sincerity that she was showing in her later years. Every letter took time and thought. In later years, at times when they became more difficult to write as her eyesight began failing her, it did not stop her from wanting to connect with others by written note. If necessary, she would have one of her children write the note, with her dictating exactly what she wanted to say to them, (and then having them read back what she had said). It was something that was a part of her until the day she died.
In today’s day and age, (and I am as guilty of this as others), we look to send the quick email note, the short text with abbreviations, or sadly sometimes no note or contact at all to others in our life with whom we have lost contact. And, while the email, or text, or instant message, may have its place, it is not the way to make an impression when you want to truly connect with someone. Think about the last time you may have gotten a hand-written note, or a card with a hand-written message. How did it make you feel?
So, when you truly want to convey your feelings to another, and you want to sort out your thoughts to send them in the most impactful way possible, consider taking the time to write them out and send them in that format. I think you will find that a method that has worked for hundreds of years, and touched the hearts of so many, still works in our high technology world of today.
