Snail Mail

A few days ago, I checked my mailbox and found a handwritten envelope inside. It's always exciting to see something in the pile that is not junk or a bill. The weird thing was not recognizing the handwriting and the fact that there was no return address, only a little drawing of a snail in the corner. 

I quickly opened it and inside was a sweet note on colorful paper, signed "Em". I was pretty sure I knew which Emily it came from, based on the content, but things just didn't add up - the handwriting, the drawing, the fact that it shipped from IL...Half way through my commute, I e-mailed this particular Emily to see if by chance, she sent me a letter recently. Maybe she had been taking calligraphy/art classes and the mailman meant for it be stamped TX? 

While waiting for her response, I examined every inch of this piece of mail. Finally, I realized that there was a tiny, handwritten url in the left corner of the envelope. It read snailmailmyemail.org, which did not look like something someone would randomly write. So, I quickly googled it when the metro gave me a glimpse of internet signal. Aha! Indeed it was a site and it said:

"Snail Mail My Email is a worldwide collaborative art event where volunteers handwrite and artistically interpret strangers' emails and send these physical letters to the intended recipient free of charge. Started in 2011, the project has evolved to include hundreds of volunteers who collectively sent out over 13,000 letters across the globe". 

Isn't that a great idea? Shortly afterwards, Emily wrote back: "Yes, sort of. Someone else sent it, but it's from me". She didn't know what it looked like, so I sent her some pictures. 

I was giddy with excitement the rest of the morning and was rapidly drawing up a list in my head of who to send some of these to. Also, I was ready to become a volunteer! Stationery, fonts, doodles, reading other people's notes? Love it. However, I was quickly disappointed when I read this on their official Facebook page, dated November 19 2012: 

"Aaaaaannd that's a wrap! Thanks so much everyone who participated in SMME 2012! We've had a blast and hope you have as well! Now that the project is coming to a close, it's important to carry the momentum of letter writing into the new year and beyond! Hoorah!"

Bummer. 

They did come out with a book though: Handwritten Letters in a Digital World

Speaking of Emily, today is our one year "runners streak" anniversary (and her 4 year wedding anniversary!!) What started last year as a pledge to run at least 1 mile a day, every day from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, turned into a bigger endeavor. We have kept each other accountable for exercising since then (primarily through our google document) and I can truly say that it's been life changing.

Hope you all had a delicious Thanksgiving!

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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