Circle Letter is Here!

A circle.
No beginning and no ending.

A letter.
It has a beginning. . . Dear family. . .and an ending. . . With Love.

A Circle Letter.
Now that's interesting.

For years, my mother and her siblings have written a circle letter to each other. The way it works is like this:
          My mother writes a letter.
          She mails it to her sister in Ohio.
          The sister writes her letter, adds it to my mom's and mails it to the next person.
          Each person adds their letter until it finally gets mailed back to my mother.
          She pulls out her old letter, adds a new one and the circle of letters continues.
          Each person does likewise, pulling out their old letter and adding their new letter.

This process has gone on for years and started in the days when postage was cheap and the Internet wasn't even an option. Having family in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Arizona, and Georgia meant that keeping in touch via the postal service was necessary. The Circle Letter was a way that news was shared, family stories were told, and relationships were maintained. The tradition of the letter has been upheld throughout the years by my aunts and uncle, some of my older cousins, and in more recent years, a younger cousin and myself have joined the circle.

About once a month, sometimes two, I get a call from my mom informing me that the Circle Letter arrived and to get my letter written. It is of utmost importance to get the letters back out into the arms of the postman before it lingers too long at any one house. I have been known to keep them once or twice, and believe me, the phone calls start.
 "Do you know where the letters are?"
" I sent them out three weeks ago and no one has seen them!"
"Does Dianne have them?"
You would think that since they are on the phone asking about the letter's whereabouts, that they would just talk about the news, the latest family gossip (did I say that out loud?), and the newest funny story. But they don't.

Getting that stack of letters in the mail is different. It is more permanent. It is a slice of history in an envelope. Even though many of us are on Facebook and even comment once in awhile, not a one of us is wanting to do away with the handwritten, or typed (although handwritten is better) letter.

Who doesn't enjoy opening up the mailbox and seeing an envelope with your name on it, handwritten is a familiar scrawl? Even my daughters send mail to friends who they see weekly via the old-fashioned USA Postal Service. There is a sky blue envelope resting on the chalkboard ledge right now, waiting to be mailed.

I got the call last night, and a reminder today, that the Circle Letter is due. I didn't write last month and a few of them were wondering where I was. So I guess I'll get out the feather quill, find some weathered paper and compose a letter filled with news, updates, and life.

 After all, who doesn't like to get mail? Of the good kind, that is.
 Or a package or parcel, which is even better.
 Not that I am hinting or anything. cough cough

Love,
Dianne