Do you remember a special Valentine’s Day gift, note or experience? Jeannette Paladino @Write Speak Sell has a heart warming story to share with you called “Do You Still Write Love Letters?”
Jeannette shared, as she was going through a folder of missives from her husband, it brought back many fond memories. Her husband was truly the love of her life who passed away 5 years ago. She is just now able to talk about him and their many shared experiences without feeling sad. It now makes her happy because it helps keep his memory alive. That touched my heart.
With that, I’ll let Jeannette take it from here.
Will you be sending a greeting card and a box of chocolates or a bouquet of red roses to your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day?
Do You Still Write Love Letters?
Or will you be sending a love letter? A real, handwritten letter – not a text or email. In France, they call a love letter a billet-doux. I mention this because the French are such romantics. But I wonder if even they write love letters anymore.
I do think writing love letters is a slowly dying art with the advent of short takes in emails and 140-character tweets. Receiving a hand-written love letter is as unexpected these days as receiving a hand-written thank you note. But what a wonderful feeling a hand-written love letter delivers when you receive one!
Taking the time to personalize a love letter says so much about you – that you care enough to give a truly uniquely personal gift that can’t be purchased in any store and is irreplaceable. A love letter doesn’t have to be long. Just a few well-chosen words will have more meaning than a store bought card.
This is a subject close to my heart because my late husband wrote me hand-written letters and notes throughout our marriage. He was also a private press printer and would meticulously set the type and print love cards, too.
I just went through the bulging folder where I’ve saved them all. Some of them are schmaltzy, and others are quite funny, but I loved them all. They speak to me long after he’s gone. Rather than sad they make me happy at having been with the love of my life.
He sent me love letters that I saved along with Valentine’s Day cards, birthday cards, and large hand-written signs that greeted me with a “Welcome Home, Sweetheart” on returns from business trips. They are written from the heart and filled with humor, too. How lucky I am to have them.
So before you invest in yet another box of chocolates or bouquet of flowers, consider writing a love letter instead. The chocolates and flowers are nice but short lived, but your love letter will live for eternity.
Do you have a special stash of handwritten notes that stay with you? Do you save those memories in a special place? What are some of your Valentine’s Day memories that you’d like to share?
From Jeannette Paladino @Write Speak Sell as life’s journey continues…
If you enjoyed “Do You Still Write Love Letters?,” check out Love and Friendship: #Story (Podcast), Valentines Gifts From The Kitchen, and Two Chocolate Wines.
