I don’t know that pen palling is
really a lost art. It just seems with
the internet and facebook and email and such – the written letters seem to be a
thing of the past.
Earlier I created this post. Jenna and her cousin Melody had promised to
write one another every day. And for an
entire week Jenna really did – though I did not mail on a daily basis. I would accumulate and then mail.
I ended up sending two or three pieces
of mail. Jenna was really disappointed
that Melody hadn’t written back. I
actually believe that Melody did write – perhaps every day in the beginning –
but I don’t believe it was a priority for either mom or dad to address the
envelope and put a stamp on it. Thus
they never got mailed.
For a while I would leave letters in
the box for Jenna. They had all been
signed, “Your Secret Friend”. She had actually given Melody the credit and has
written back to her. Still nothing from
Melody though.
And so I went on a pen pal search. I Googled and brought up some sites – some
wanted money – though not a lot. I’m
cheap and still looked for another alternate.
And I found a blog site that gave the suggestion of finding friends
through friends.
I have several friends on facebook who
live out of state – there are even a couple that live out of the country – but
until Jenna is willing to build up her vocabulary and actually write more than
two sentences, I am not willing to pay over a dollar per ½ ounce sent. So we are remaining in the states for the
time being.
As of now she is up to seven pen pals. Six have written back. Two are actually facebook friends who are
many years older than Jenna (one actually closer to my age) and a distant
cousin and none she’s ever met.
But it is truly a joy to watch her
excitement as she retrieves any mail that has her name on it. Two Halloween cards. And lots of treasures – the latest with a
bonus letter – because even though the initial letter was sent to Paul, his
younger sister saw Jenna’s picture and decided that she was beautiful and would
like to write to her herself.
Interestingly enough, Paul and Jenna
each attend a school with the very same name. They both like music, singing,
acting and arts. He writes how his three
sisters drive him crazy and she wrote back that her three brothers drive her
bananas – which is actually not true.
Biff is the only one who lives with
us. True, he does get on her nerves at
times, but that is because he works graveyards and thus likes to sleep during the
day – which often is a challenge as Jenna is usually so loud and dramatic.
Randy (the most mature of my three
boys) drops by occasionally to use the computer. He is very gentle with her and speaks kindly
to her and often challenges her intellect.
(Not to say that Biff isn’t kind – but he’s definitely not as
gentle. Pokes and teases her – and she
is mostly never in the mood)
We rarely see Tony as he is in another
state. Jenna adores him. I don’t think
he has ever driven her bonkers – but then again . . . I can remember them
arguing in the backseat of the car as though they were two five year olds –
what is really sad as that they are sixteen years apart.
Jenna was off school yesterday and
again today. We will send letters to at
least four friends this weekend. And if
we get another letter, we will just add to the friendship list.
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