"My angel, my all, my other self, just a few words today, and that in pencil, yours" Beethoven

Could it be in this day and age that we are so busy, so connected, so overrun with things to do that we can't even connect with people like making phone calls. Long calls that lasted HOURs. Do you remember the last time you had hours to do anything (well except work and sleep). When you could chat with your best friend for hours on a phone connected to your wall while walking around only as far as the cord would stretch and maybe a little more? The sound and feel of a rotary phone. Letting your finger take ride. Stopping at pay phones to call if you were running late.  I may be aging myself but now we are so connected that we don't even talk anymore. My schedule (or timezone) almost always conflicts with yours. We send quick texts because that is all we have time for. But you care about these people. You care about how they are, what they are doing, where they have been and where they are going.

Slowing down, reading for pleasure, having a conversation with an old friend: these are all luxuries we are not afforded. BUT, what if we took a step back,  way back, middle school summer camp way back and wrote letters. You could write about your day, your thoughts, how you miss the person. You could write to your love, your siblings, your grandmother, your friend. Now I realize a text can tell the person all those things, even an email. But imagine sitting down with your favorite stationary and pen (or pencil - thanks Ludwig) and actually writing down thoughts, questions, feelings. You could do it late at night or early in the morning and it wouldn't conflict with your schedule or theirs. It could actually fit in your busy schedule. And now imagine your friend, cousin, mothers' surprise when they actually received written words from you. Thank you notes, although important, don't count. Jane Austen didn't have it wrong. Yes I am aware the written word was her only option but...  Look at the letters written before cell phones, smart phones, emails, even the world wide web! A time when things were slower, relationships were cherished, and you didn't get an immediate response (oh no! no instant gratification?? how would you live). This was a time when you had to actually think about what you wanted to say with no immediate response from the receiver. Wouldn't that be a beautiful thing? Actually caring about what you said to people you care about. I am seriously considering writing a few letters to people I would love to talk to for hours, if I had hours to talk.

and my closing statement could be this:

Ever thine.
Ever mine.
Ever ours.

not TTYL.  Which would you prefer?