Sending Postcards

It happened quite unexpectedly. I was in my Nanna’s cellar – I am not sure what I was doing there. Perhaps she had sent me to get some onions or perhaps I was just looking for adventure. It was not a large cellar. It was made up of just two rooms but there were plenty of boxes and forgotten treasures from bygone days to pique my curiosity. On this particular day, I was not more than six or seven years old, I came across two old, dusty shoeboxes. Holding my breath at the thought of what might be inside, I opened the lids. What I found inside was not quite what I had expected. They were filled to the top with postcards. Excitedly, I ran upstairs, my errand – if that’s what it was – completely forgotten. And that’s when it started, my love affair with postcards.

I sat there, in my Nanna’s kitchen, and patiently went through each card. They were mostly from pen-friends that my mother and her two sisters had made during their visits to Europe and postcards that they themselves had sent home. It was  glimpse into their world; a wonderful introduction to some of the most beautiful cities of Europe: London, Rome, Athens, Paris, Venice … I asked permission to take them home. It was granted, without hesitation.

That is how my collection started. From then onwards, whenever I visited a place, I would make sure to get postcards, both as a souvenir and as an addition to my ever-growing collection.

So, when a few months ago, Jeanne from Collage of Life, asked if anyone was interested in joining a postcard exchange with her, I immediately said yes. Jeanne had recently moved to  Vietnam and I was enthralled at the idea of receiving postcards from this part of the world – one which I am unlikely to ever visit (although, of course, I never say never). In this fast-paced world of instant e-mails and online presences, finding a hand-written note in the mail-box is as rare a treat as rain on a hot August day; it makes a person feel that much closer and makes them so much more real.

In the spirit of keeping things real, I would like to extend Jeanne’s invitation to all of you.If you would like to start a post-card exchange with  me, just send me an e-mail on: stories(dot)scribbles@gmail(dot)com and we will get started. I promise, I will not inundate you with mail – it is not my intention. I just want to rekindle that old magic of finding a note from a far-off friend in my mail-box.

Postcards from my collection.