Day 113 - Send the World's Smallest Letter

Date: April 29th, 2010

I've heard the art of letter writing is dead.  I can see where people say that.  I mean, if I want to contact someone I'll call them, text them, e-mail them, IM them, send them a Facebook message, show up at their house in the middle of the night and hide in the bushes.  Wait.  Scratch that last one.  The point is, I can't remember the last time I sent a letter.  Wait.  Scratch that one too.  I can remember.  It was 2003 and my boyfriend, at the time, lived way out in the boonies.  It seemed quaint.

That being said, there's a downside to our collective loss of letter-writing chops.  What I recall about my little love letter was taking my time, crafting my thoughts, and pouring my heart out.  A letter is intended to be read over and over again.  Its not a shout-out or a quick attention getter.  Granted there was a time when it was the only way to get in touch with someone far away, but having lost its necessity it gains a certain, distinctive sentimentality. 

Unfortunately, sentimentality just hasn't been enough for me to put down the keyboard and pick up a pen.  It is just so much easier to talk to people on the interweb and not being the queen of the mushy-gushy, I've not had the urge to pour my heart out recently.  Well it turns out, while I may not be into the mushy-gushy, I'm a sucker for novelty.

A few days ago I found a website that sells the World's Smallest Letter.  It's like candy in the shape of a human tongue or a hand buzzer.  Sure, candy and handshakes are nice, but they're nothing compared to tongue candy and electric handshakes.  Same goes for letters.  I love the idea of writing a heartfelt letter, but I couldn't get motivated to follow through with it.  Until I found the buzzer to my handshake, in the form of tiny tiny letters.

I decided to write the letter to my mom, to congratulate her for graduating law school and to mock her need to wear reading glasses.  I kid.  The kit they send comes with a magnifying glass and other necessities.  Being in the middle of finals myself and seeing my mom fight through her last semester, it was a nice break to stop and reflect on how we got here.  And, ya know, say thanks and whatnot.