| It is easy to say letters are a (n){{U}}
(21) {{/U}}way for family members to{{U}} (22) {{/U}}in touch
when the children{{U}} (23) {{/U}}schools and jobs or{{U}} (24)
{{/U}}families of their own. But what if you think letter writing is not
your strong point? And your long-distance phone bill{{U}} (25) {{/U}}a
national debt? Here are some advisable thoughts: Begin a post-card exchange. The message space is small but{{U}} (26) {{/U}}is the{{U}} (27) {{/U}}of home that counts. And it can be{{U}} (28) {{/U}}. Cards{{U}} (29) {{/U}}from the silly to the poetic; from seasonal scenes to famous paintings from art museums. Operate a clipping service. Envelopes{{U}} (30) {{/U}}with news items and cartoons are a welcome sight at mail call. Watch newspapers and magazines for articles that amuse or inform. You might{{U}} (31) {{/U}}a few brief comments in a note--soon you might be writing a whole letter. A daughter found a story about the joys (and hazards) of wallpapering a room and sent it to her mother with a written{{U}} (32) {{/U}}of her childhood memories of that experience in their own household. She discovered letter writing was easy when she{{U}} (33) {{/U}}her own experience. Send greeting cards which say "thinking of you." Busy young people find this an especially helpful way to fill the spaces between long, catching-up-to-news-letters. Use little note papers instead of lettersheet. Again, the writing space is small, but your thoughtfulness will be appreciated. Some organizations sell cards and notepapers as fund-raisers; for example, UNICEF{{U}} (34) {{/U}}money for the United Nations Children Fund with all-occasion cards and stationery designed by famous artists world-wide. This enables your message to do double to contact a loved one with{{U}} (35) {{/U}}to a cause. Send mementos from things you do. A theater program, a movie review from the newspaper--they can put into words that you want to say. Begin a photo-of-the-month exchange.{{U}} (36) {{/U}}the family album or take pictures of family faces and places. A mother sent her son of his childhood photos and found herself writing memories she had never shared. Her son, deeply{{U}} (37) {{/U}}, replied: "Send me more of my life history." Keep a{{U}} (38) {{/U}}. An executive wrote a paragraph a day before leaving his office and{{U}} (39) {{/U}}the paragraphs at the end of the week to his daughter. "At first it was pretty mundane," he said, "but soon I was looking for interesting things to write about and it became a real dialogue between us." Remember, it is not a skill with words that{{U}} (40) {{/U}}; it is the sight of an envelope from a family member. |