How unusual it is these days to receive a handwritten letter. This week, we’ve received two.

The first was from our youngest son’s girlfriend, telling us about seeing Carmen performed by Vancouver Opera—my husband and I gave them tickets to see the show, so it was a thank-you note—more—it was a thank-you letter!

The second one was from my husband’s brother written in the Cyrillic alphabet sharing news of his family.

Usually, the mailbox contains flyers (despite the no-flyers message on the box), bills, statements, receipts, and printed promotional material. Occasionally, there’s a postcard. Seldom, there’s a letter. They felt like real gifts.

She’d used a special stamp on it, too, of Shania Twain, Canadian homegrown country artist.

Handwritten letters take a lot more effort than an email or a phone call. What a treat! Thanks, Katie. Thanks, Orlin.