The Joys of Snail Mail

by Jennifer AlLee

It used to be that one of my favorite times of the day was when I'd check the mail. By check the mail, I don't mean sit at my PC and look at email. I mean walking out of the house, to the mailbox, and peering inside, hoping to find something addressed to me personally. Back in the days before every home had a computer, the mailbox was something of a mysterious portal. You never knew when you might get a correspondence from a friend, or a card, or even better, a package!

Checking the mail is not nearly as exciting now. Yet I still get a twinge of anticipation right before I pull the door open... what might be in there? Usually, it's junk mail and/or bills. But on rare occasions, I'll find a card, picked out by a friend just for me, and written by their own hand. That's pretty special.

I don't think I'm alone when it comes to these nostalgic feelings. A lot of us still enjoy physical mail, ripping open envelopes, and pulling out what's inside. Not that I don't appreciate eCards. Heck, I send those, too. And email. But there's nothing like the surprise and excitement of holding a paper card in your hand. So I've decided I need to send more cards. Birthdays and holidays are good times to do this, but what's even more fun is to send happy, encouraging notes to people for no reason other than the fact that you care about them.

Want to join me? Let's make it a challenge. Pick at least one friend and send him/her a card by the end of weekend (Sunday, July 11). Tell us how you did, and if what kind of response you got. Let's spread some joy around!



JENNIFER ALLEE was born in Hollywood, California, and spent her first ten years living above a mortuary one block away from the famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine. Now she lives in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, which just goes to prove she’s been blessed with a unique life. When she’s not busy spinning tales, she enjoys playing games with friends, attending live theater and movies, and singing at the top of her lungs to whatever happens to be playing on the car radio. Although she’s thrilled to be living out her lifelong dream of being a novelist, she considers raising her son to be her greatest creative accomplishment. She's a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Christian Authors Network. Her novels include The Pastor’s Wife, The Mother Road, A Wild Goose Chase Christmas, Last Family Standing, and Vinnie's Diner from Abingdon Press; Diamond in the Rough, Vanishing Act, and Curtain Call from Whitaker House and co-written with Lisa Karon Richardson; the novella Comfort and Joy in the Christmas anthology, Mistletoe Memories from Barbour; and A Worthy Suitor from Harlequin's Heartsong Presents.