When I came back home from my 2-month –vacation in the Philippines, I was very surprised and glad to see the handmade cards from Austria that my in-laws sent us. My husband displayed it on the counter in our living room. I examined the cards and yeah they made it and I felt the sincerity of their wishes through that simple gesture of congratulating us on our wedding since both our families were not able to attend our wedding ceremony that was held in Hong Kong.
Then it really inspired me to start doing this classic way of sending our wishes and love to the people we care about by making a card and send it via post. It may take several days or even weeks before the recipient receives (sometimes it depends on the location) it but it doesn’t really matter. To make it in time for the event, we just have to send it earlier.
Back in the 80’s or early 90’s, my mom, aunty and other relatives used to send greeting cards to my grannies. My grandma kept them in a box and on special occasions such as Christmas or Valentine ’s Day, she categorizes the cards according to the current event, and then put them up for display. She hung them on the Christmas tree or pin it on the wall things like that.
When I think about it now, I realized the effort they spent to be able to express their greetings to the people we love. Now we live in the world of computers. We can send e-cards in a matter of seconds, we can call, we can skype, we can greet them on Facebook or any social networking sites since 90% has an account, fast and easy like that. The essence and thought are still there but still, it is nothing compared to we are actually creating the cards using all out artistry and inventiveness even if it’s just a plain card, plus the effort of going to the post office to send it, plus the time it will travel to reach the recipients hands.
I read a story about Frog and Toad – “The Letter” , by Arnold Lobel. This story reminds me well. If I am to receive a letter (from friends or relatives) from the mailman, I would be very excited to open and read it. It has been a long long time I haven’t gotten one.
On Tuesday, I decided to make one for my friend in Malaysia who’s birthday is this coming 7th of July. I enjoyed while making it. I hope she likes it when she gets it. After I finished with my card, I also attached a nice photo I took from one of my recent trips in Shanghai. So inside the letter were my handmade greeting card and the photo which I made as a postcard.
I went to the post office (China post) to send my card. It also felt great while I was gluing the stamps on the envelope. I haven’t seen a stamp in long while too. The lady said it will take 2 weeks by ordinary mail and just 3 – 5 days by ems. I chose ordinary mail because it was a lot cheaper than ems. And there, my first letter / card via post is on its way. I hope it gets safely to the recipient.
Cheers everyone, let’s all enjoy our Tuesday link – up party!!!
