It’s been a little over a month since Noah has been at bootcamp and obviously this calls for letter writing. Prior to him leaving, I rarely ever wrote letters, let alone mail anything out besides an occasional post card. The day he left, I started writing my first letter and it was honestly extremely cathartic. It’s hard going from talking to someone every day to only talking to them once a week for 20 minutes if you’re lucky enough. When I write my letters to him, it honestly feels like I’m half talking to myself and talking to him. It feels like another form of journaling as I reflect upon what I’ve been up to the past couple of days. It’s nice to reflect on how I spent my days, the things I get excited about, the foods I ate, the people I met, etc. I make sure to check in with him too- how he’s been doing, how the food is, and how the people are. Don’t get me wrong though, sometimes I run out of stuff to say. It’s hard to have a conversation when you’re the only one talking. But nonetheless, short or long letter, I know he’ll appreciate getting something from me, period.
A service I found that’s partnered with the military is a company called Sandboxx! They guarantee next day shipping of letters and even provide your soldier with a prepaid envelope and letter that they can just write, seal and send back. I bought the family month subscription and have been loving it so far. They let you attach a picture on the letter too! When I send a letter out, it provides a tracking number so I can track the letter until it reaches Noah’s base. Obviously, it’s a matter of when the Drill Sargent’s decide to do mail call but at least I know it won’t take over a week for the letter to get to the base! The only downside is that I have to type the letter and so the whole handwritten aspect of the letter is gone.
There’s also something extremely therapeutic about sealing the letter in the envelope, addressing it, and stamping it. We don’t get the same feeling of accomplishment when we text someone or call them. Letter writing is so appealing to me because half of it is a mystery and waiting game. Once I toss my letter into the blue box, I have no idea where and when it’ll show up at his base. It’s also a waiting game when it comes to receiving the letters he sends out. A surge of anticipation builds up as I as the Midtown front desk if I’ve gotten any letters; followed by a wave of disappointment when they say nothing has arrived. On days like these, I remind myself that good things happen to those who wait. So, I’ll keep waiting and it’ll be so worth it when it finally comes.
