There is a box in our garage filled with stories. Papery, magical stories. The words are from another age, a time where love was delivered in coloured envelopes, recorded on delicate sheets of paper. We learned who each other was, as each letter was delivered.
I remember the feeling so keenly. Carefully peeling back the sticky envelope tab to see what missive of passion and wit awaited. Smoothing crinkled paper and seeing the curls and dashes of ink, the white spaces framing the importance of each vowel and consonant. Words – put together with love, urgency and an outpouring of his heart.
I’m not gifted at speaking my mind. The fear or disappointment in the face of the other is enough to clamp shut my jaw and I hear myself uttering placating words instead of what I came there to say. Letters, on the other hand, are suited well to my slower pace of delivery. Each word crafted to ensure the message I hoped would come out.
Now we have seen almost 12 years of marriage. Our letters appear only on special occasions. But the memories of those first formative moments continue to make me smile.
This post is part of #Write31Days and the Five Minute Friday challenge that I’m participating in along with talented community of other writers. We free write for five minutes (or more) guided by a prompt. Today’s prompt is ‘mail’.
For more information on 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes, check out Christina Hubbard’s site!
16 comments
Those letters will always be special to you. I hope you go back and read them. And cherish them!
Indeed 🙂 I did go back through the entire box of memories around last year and it was a crazy/beautiful experience! Funny to go to the ones all the way back from high school as well… that was a little more weird!
Oh, Emma. Thank you so much for sharing your heart – you brought life to what I can feel, but can never say.
#1 at FMF this week.
http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2016/10/your-dying-spouse-219-rooster-fmf.html
That is so kind, Andrew 🙂 I love reading your words as always – hoping for a better week this week for you 🙁
What wonderful memories! I was always writing letters and notes to my (before we were married) hubs, but he only occasionally gave me a note back. But you can bet your biscuits I still have each one of those notes! Even the little one written on the back of a receipt and stuffed into my locker at work. 😉
Definitely worth keeping, all the more so when so rare! I need to make a date each year to go back and read them properly. Words can be so powerful 🙂
So sweet! I love that you kept the letters.
It is probably one of the only things I hoard… I’m a bit of a minimalist otherwise!
Emma, so romantic! How you must treasure those letters! I too am meek in person but there is strength in writing. I’m new to FWF and #35on this week’s list.
Welcome Gina! Can’t wait to check out your post 🙂 Yes, I wish sometimes that I was better at expressing myself in person, but at least we have the medium of blogging and letters to keep our thoughts in order!
Such a treasure! I love that you kept the letters, too.
Yes, I’m so glad that I did 🙂
Emma,
oh I LOVE this post! So so so glad to have stopped by. We had a long distance relationship as well. Even though we emailed a fair share, we did write some letters. I have the envelopes with clever addressee addendums as well as the letters in a shoebox. We just celebrated 12 years in September, so you and I are very much the same!
It’s wonderful to go back and read them again. I’m just happy giddy reading your post.
Love,
Tammy
(#2 this week)
Oh love it! What a lot of symmetry there is in our stories – I never realised! So beautiful xx
Oh, boxes of love letters! Bobby and I have stacks of emails I printed out (1998-2001) and even a lock of hair (schmaltzy, I know). Let’s start a love letter museum.
Oh love it! These are the memories our kids will hopefully treasure – I know I would love to discover the hidden story of my parents’ romance…