old fashioned letters

It's taken me being unemployed and almost officially done with my graduate degree to learn to start to slow down. It takes a lot of hard work, especially in LA to just slow...down... and breeeeeeathe. Sometimes when you're not rushing around, people stare at you, like maybe you have a problem if you're not busy. It's so funny.
So in honor of slowing life down a bit, I wrote an old fashioned letter to my great aunt. Granted, I couldn't bring myself to write it by hand... I don't even have any lined paper to do so... but I did send it snail mail and it was extremely mundane, a theme that flows from the letters I receive from my other great aunt. I talked about childhood memories I have with her now deceased husband, the current happenings of our lives, and sent her a little prayer. I realized it was so hard to do because it is just not a part of our culture anymore. There was a part of me that was fighting it the whole way through... I considered not sending a letter or emailing it to her daughter, and when I realized that would not be a good idea I thought about how wrong it was that it cost a whole 43 cents and it would arrive at least two days slower than an email. So I can't totally get out of my culture, but I did try at least. And yesterday I sent a real birthday card by mail too, so I'm getting places!
I still want to learn to garden, pickle cucumbers, and sew like my great aunts. I'm hoping moving back to Portland will allow for more time with my aunt Molly for creative learning like that.