Letters From Abroad

I have been writing letters from afar! I’d been letting more than a few balls drop as I tried to make my way out of the last couple months of the school year, which included my pen pals and correspondence. Being in Japan and Asia in general, having so much to write about, and I’ve also been picking up postcards and stickers to send home. I have been trying my best to catch up, and also having fun helping the kids send some mail home to their friends—even one or two to some of Junia’s tiny little fellow humans.

It’s significantly more work to help the kids write their letters, to help them think about what they want to say, and how correspondence might work if it’s likely not possible for their friend to write back, to help them think about what things they might want to send to which friend, to queue up the addresses. Will these young raccoons of mine turn out to be avid letter writers? At this point, I would say it seems not likely, but who knows what the future holds. Perhaps it’s in part because their friends are also at the age where their parents will need to help, and in this age in general sending letters by mail doesn’t seem common knowledge, so physical snail mail correspondence often fizzles off very quickly. I remain hopeful that one or more of my children will one day have the joy of a faithful pen palship.

In any case, I have been sending letters that I have written, and letters that my kids have written. What is it about being far from home and all of a sudden having a burst of correspondent productivity? Is it—can I dare hazard this terrible guess??—that I have too many supplies at home and it’s all so comfortable and cosy and hoarder-esque and I’m Jabba the Hutt in my tiny little office/closet that I’m having a hard time Getting Things Done? No, of course not. It’s not possible to have too much stationery. Maybe, maybe not.

In any case, I picked up a few things here to get a few letters out, some inexpensive loose leaf A5 paper, on which I occasionally affix some washi tape or stickers or a stamp, as well as a pack or two of nicer letter mail stationery, and some envelopes. I’ve all sorts of odds and ends, stickers and photos that I’ve been printing with my photo printer, to include.

I am loving the satisfaction and tiny delights of sending off mail again. Travelling is hectic and chaotic, but sometimes taking a moment to send something off feels like an accomplishment and a piece of home as well.