Dear Friend . . .

Many years ago, in fact when I was a high school student, it was quite popular to have penpals. These penpals could be in the same province or they might be a world away.  It was always incredibably exciting to receive a letter.  The person writing might share something about their culture, stories of their life and family or what the current news of their life was,  Sadly, they were friendships that did not endure beyond highschool.

The letters and relationships that were built for that period of time were interesting ones.  My penpals were all across the globe.  Carol lived in Birmingham, England and had planned to be a nurse. Sophia lived in  Greece and always included hearts and drawings in the letters and Chiaria lived in India, was Hindu and had very different customs.  Each one added a different dimension to my life from the stories and descriptions that they included in the letters that we shared.

Writing letters is a lost art. It is rare to receive a letter in the mail, but when a letter does come it is still an exciting event.  My DH and I rarely write letters but we are known for sending postcards to a select few people when we travel and include the news of what we are doing and what we saw at this particular place.  As we pack up the house that we currently live in in preparation to move to our new home I packed a memory box that contains the handwritten letters of my DH from our dating years in the early 1990's, before the convenience of email and texting and free calling.

Today I received a rare treat.  I was on the receiving end of a letter in the mailbox.  I eagerly opened it and sat back with a cup of coffee to read the words of my friend, to hear her news and just catch up.  The discripton of her area and the lovely things to see are a temptation and it was easy to feel as if you were there in her living room  sitting across from each other and visiting.

Although I rarely sit and write letters anymore, unless we are travelling,  I do still greatly appreciate them and the excitement of pulling that envelope out of the mailbox and even more I appreciate the person who takes time to sit, put pen to paper and write.

In an age like ours which is not given to letter writing, we forget what an important part in played in people's lives

Anatole Broyard

I Wish....

Every now and then I see a poem that is old but deeply meaningful.  The intent of the words is to convey a message of great sincerity.  Today is another one of those days where there words were particularly poignant and definitely brought  tears to my eyes.  I would go so far has to say that I had great difficulty reading the words as they hit profoundly.  Perhaps it hit hard because I have an aging parent and she has been very ill, perhaps it hit hard because there is a great physical distance and one never knows when it will be the last visit or telephone conversation, and perhaps the why is really most irrelevant.   We have all had to face those final good byes with only memories to sustain us and see us through the difficult times.


The poem, I wish you enough  (Bob Perks), stems from an Irish blessing and speaks to us on so many levels.  It is not only about good byes but wishig goodness and beauty on others.    In light of the turmoil the whole world seems to be experiencing, the impact of the political negativity that is sprouted nearly everywhere and the hatred that seems to be overflowing in our society then perhaps it is not too timely a reminder for us all to have good thoughts and wishes for every person, even those we have yet to meet.  Is that wishful thinking on my part?  Absolutely!  But despite the harsh political climes that we may currently be living with we have not been given a free pass to say and do as we please with no thought to the consequences.  By nature I am not a particularly political person but I find myself severely challenged and drawn into conversations that can quickly become heated as strong opinions exist on all sides.  There is, unfortunately, no simple solution to where we seem to be heading.  So perhaps the timely retelling of such poems and stories are a reminder to us all to be kinder, gentler persons.

I wish you enough

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how grey the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

(The copyright for this poem belongs to the author: Bob Perkins)

 I am also sure that others are similarly impacted by the beauty of a story or a poem that for one reason or another becomes deeply personal, worth sharing and retelling.  So today I wish you enough, enough of whatever it is you need to overcome obstacles, hatred, uncertainty, fear.  I wish you enough of whatever you need to feel like celebrating, experience joy, smile.

I simply wish you ....enough!