108 _
WANT TO READ MORE?
‘Afoot and Lighthearted: A Journey
of Mindful Walking’, by Bonnie
Smith Whitehouse
‘Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the
Writer Within’, by Natalie GoldbergTHEANTICIPATIONANDWAITING
Clymeralsosendsa lotofletters,especiallywhile
traveling.Herhandwritingis beautifulandsois her
calligraphy,whichdecorateseveryenvelopealongwith
carefullychosenstamps.Clymeris thedrivingforce
behindTwoHandsPaperie’sCorrespondenceThursday
events,wherepeopleenjoytheartofletter-writing
together.Monthly,theygatheraroundin thebackofthe
shop,surroundedbydisplaysoffinewritingpaper,to
writetoletters.Eventhoughwehavetheworldatour
disposalthroughoursmartphones,wesomehowstill
havepatienceforwaitingforletterstoarrivein themail,
thenwaitingevenlongertohearbackfromtheir
recipients.“I thinkit’sbecauseit’scountertoallofthat
[technology],”Clymersays.“I thinkthere’ssomething
specialabouttheanticipationandwaiting.”
Webothliketoimagineourlettersmakingtheirway
totheirdestinations.Weagreedthatlettersseemto
appreciatein valuethelongertheytaketoarrive.Two
monthsafterI hadsentmyselfa letterfromMexico
City,I wassoexcitedtoseethatfloral-patterned
envelopeagain.I rememberedtheeffortit tooktouse
mymediocreSpanishskillstofindouthowmany
stampsI neededtosendit, andhowthreedifferent
postalemployeestoldmedifferentamountson
differentdays.I hadworriedmylettermightnotever
arrive.Whenit did,it immediatelybroughtmebackto
thelush,greenParqueMéxicowhereI hadwrittenit.THEBROADERCONTEXT
Writinglettershelpsmeunderstandwhata luxurytime
is.We’reaskedtodosomuchwithsolittletime,andit
feelsindulgenttowriteslowly,ratherthanshootingoff
a textmessage.I haveboxesfullofallthehandwritten
lettersandpostcardsI’veeverreceived,andI willkeep
themforever.ButI’vefoundmyselfgoingbackmost
regularlytoreadwhatI’vewrittentomyself.I keep
thoselettersin a littlesetofshelvesonmydeskwhere
I storemyblankstationery,andI stoptoreadoneevery
fewmonthsorso.Partofmehopestofindwisdomfortodayfromyesterday’sself.ButI alsojustlovetolook
atthepostmarksandstamps,andpickupeachletter
andtrytorememberwhatI feltwhenI wroteit.
Clymersayssomepeopleliketosendthemselvesa
postcardfromeveryplacetheygo,andthenbindthem
in a book.“Whenyougethome,youhavethisbig
stackofthings,andit’snotjustwhatyouwroteonit or
thepictureonthepostcardortheletter,”shesays.“It’s
thestampyoubought,andit’sthepostalmarksleft
behindbythatindividualcountry’smailsystemthat
makesit sospecial.”
WhenI askBonnieSmithWhitehouse,anauthorand
professorofEnglishatBelmontUniversityin theUS,
whatshethinkswecanlearnfromlookingbackatwhat
we’vewritten,shebringsupMadeleineL’Engle,the
authorofA Wrinklein Time. “Shetalksa lotabouthow,
asa self,sheisn’tjusta 44-year-oldwoman,butshe
carriesthe5-year-oldwithher,andshecarriesthe
16-year-oldwithher,”Whitehousesays.“Thosepeople
thatshewasarestilltherewithher.I thinkwhenyou
readsomethingthatyou’vewrittena longtimeago,you
canfeelthatpartofyourselfandreacquaintyourself
withthat5-year-oldorthat16-year-old.It helpsyou
understandhowyougottobewhereyouare,butit
alsohelpstounderstandthebroadercontextofour
worldandhowthingshavechanged.”TEXTKASSONDRA CLOOSILLUSTRATIONSYELENA BRYKSENKOVA‘I love to look at the postmarks and stamps, and pick up
each letter and try to remember what I felt when I wrote it’