Calling All Potential Pen Pals

I received a letter from my friend Caitlin (hi Caitlin!) the other day and as I was responding to it, I thought about how much I love getting good old fashioned snail mail.  Caitlin is my only "pen pal" in terms of faithful back and forth written correspondence and I have to say I WOULD LOVE MORE PEN PALS!!!

There's just something about getting a real letter in the mail!  I love it!  I love holding the note... seeing her handwriting... imagining her sitting at her kitchen table all the way in Alaska, taking a break from her busy life to write me a quick card.  I don't remember when she and I started writing back and forth regularly but we have an interesting history: we're fellow Air Force wives now, but we actually met at Camp Cherith and worked together years ago.  So it's extra super special to keep up the "snail mail tradition" with her.  She writes me.  I write her back.  It's so lovely and old fashioned!  

I like to stamp my own cards and it's something I would rarely do if it wasn't for sending notes to Caitlin and sometimes to extended family for birthdays and such.  I usually try to sit down some evening within a week of receiving a note from Caitlin so I make sure not to forget to respond to her!  I'd say each of us gets a letter about once every six weeks or so.  It's not a big time commitment, but it's so fun!

Do you ever go to your mailbox and sigh when there's nothing but boring official bank mail or junk mail?  That's part of the reason I just love so much when I get a letter from Alaska!

But then there's the difference between a letter and an email.  Cause you know there is!  It's like the difference between reading a book... a real book... and using an iPad or Kindle to read the same book.  It's just different.  Somehow, to me, the same words convey a deeper meaning when you hold them in your hands.  Caitlin's letters hold a special place in my heart because she could have just sent a quick email... but instead she takes the time to indulge in the antique art of writing a real letter!  It means so much to me!

Are we really as old fashioned as I think?  Anyone else out there still have pen pals?  Wanna be mine?  I'd love to collect more!