4. The Joy of Sending Postcards: A Nostalgic Connection
“Do people even still send postcards?” is a question that I often see on the internet.
In my opinion, people definitely still send postcards. It may be a generational thing. It may be a travel thing, because we often buy postcards when traveling. Perhaps we buy postcards as souvenirs and we never send them to anyone. We may even hand them to our loved ones when we return from the trip.
I have a collection of postcards that I have bought during my travels, ones that I never mailed. I frame them. I use them to beautify my home. I use them to decorate a picture album that contains the beautiful imageries from my trips. I give them away as souvenirs. But many are also just stuck in boxes and only to be seen when I am in a sentimental mood.
Nonetheless, I love love love the art of sending and receiving postcards. I am so excited to receive them. I feel so special and remembered when someone sends me a postcard. The content of the postcard does not matter. It is the thought that counts.
When I can, I have also mailed postcards from my travel destination so that there is a stamp from that country. When I visited the Vatican, we bought postcards and stamps and dropped them off at the Vatican mail office. It was so thrilling for us as much as the recipients of our postcards.
You are probably wondering why I am going on and on about postcards. I guess I am reminiscing. I am hoping to keep alive the art of sending a quick and beautiful note to someone. I am definitely old-fashioned, but I also believe in the tenderness of sending a physical note to someone. It does not have to just be to your adult friends and families. Your kids would probably love getting postcards. It could also be to your coworker, your kids’ teacher, your neighbor, and so forth. Postcards are a relationship tool. It builds a connection and brings joy. They can be witty, encouraging, inspirational, sarcastic, joyful, wise, and simply just a beautiful picture.
I also hope we continue to buy stamps, as that stimulates our economy. My father used to buy stamps for necessity as well as collection, and he so loved the beautiful stamps that would be released. He made sure our home always had stamps. But after his death, I realized we buy stamps only if needed and just whatever the machine spews. Stamps are a lost art too, in my humble opinion. So I am trying to get in the habit of not only stocking stamps in my house, but also buying beautiful ones that I handpicked.
I hope you find the joy in buying postcards, greeting cards, and stamps again. They are really everywhere around you. They may bring joy to you, but also to the ones around you. So consider filling your life with these simple relationship building tools, decorative pieces, or just a reminder of a beautiful moment in your life.
While I said buying postcards, you can also make them yourself. You can write a note on a beautiful piece of paper. You can write a quote or a poem behind a picture. You can create a postcard on your computer even just using Word app. There are also of course many tools out there for creating postcards, but it’s much simpler than one thinks.
I have created a few using my computer. I found some retro pictures and paired them with some Jane Austen quotes. If you would like some ideas or for amusement, you are welcome to peruse them. You do not have to buy them.
Some of you may like help with creating postcards. If you would like my help and would like to commission personalized postcards, please let me know. I can add also add your ideas as options that are publicly available. Let me know.
Once again, thank you so very much for visiting my blog and reading through this post. I continue to appreciate your support! Thank you!
If you would like to peruse my postcard collection, please click below:
lavandemusings 