“Letters are souvenirs of love,” says the headline on the newspaper article I read weeks after it was published.

I wrote four postcards today, and yes I think love was one of the reasons. Letter writing of any sort tells a person you’re thinking of them, they’re special, and you want to connect with them—specifically them, not just anyone.

I used to write long letters when I was younger, before I married and had a kid and got busy, busy busy. I’ve lost the habit, but the postcards and cards I’ve been sending lately might be a first step toward getting it back. I rather hope so, both because I value that personal form of communication as a recipient and because letter writing can be meditative for me. To write to someone about my life and my world is to think about my life and my world. Doing so with pen and paper takes a little longer than email and feels more…intentional, I think. The fact that I write emails all day for work might be another factor in favor of pen and paper for me.

Viva la postal service

The meditative nature of letter writing is only one reason why I’m doing it these days. The other reason—indeed, the primary one—is because I believe in the inherent value of and need for public mail delivery. The U.S. Postal Service is under threat, and we need it. Using it is a small way for me to show my support.

I’ve started seeing signs in support of mail carriers on doors and windows in my neighborhood, so I know I’m not alone. I’m pleased to see these essential workers getting some thanks and praise for continuing to do their work in this trying time. I do know someone who doesn’t properly appreciating them, though: Old Dog, aka Rolo. Like many dogs, she doesn’t welcome the mail carrier to our door (unless you consider furious barking and growling a welcome). That’s OK, though. Our mail carrier knows and waves to her as “my friend” when we see him on our walks in the neighborhood.

Of course, we stay safely on opposite sides of the street from one another while we wave.