Today I am enjoying a beautiful fall day in NYC. Walking around my neighborhood, I see the leaves turning colors and I can smell the crispness in the air. I wish I could take a picture of all this and make my own postcard. I love postcards. Who doesn’t? I love the fact that the picture in the front of it conveys just the right mix of beauty and sentiment, peppered with the memories being created by the person who sent it. It makes me want to step into the postcard and stand right in the middle of the picture just like a cartoon character would. If only life were as simple as an early morning cartoon show!
Although quite often the imagery on a postcard takes my breath away, I think I love the back of it even more! I know what you’re thinking. It’s a blank space. What can you possibly love about that? It’s not so much the blank space that does it for me but rather the message that is scribbled on it. It’s like a blank canvass where so much can be said from the person doing the traveling with as little as a few choice words, a simple sentiment such as “thinking of you” or “having the time of my life.” Call me old fashioned but in this age of technology, emails, tweets and texts, I love the look of a handwritten note and can almost imagine the traveler sitting in her hotel room or at some café outdoor terrace, pen in hand and heavy with thought as she writes out the words I will read a few days later. It takes time to find the right postcard. It takes time to write it. It takes time to send it. But it lets me know that someone is thinking of me, wanting me to share in the experiences.
So as I walk along the uneven concrete sidewalks of my own town and, as I look up to the blue skies and the trees in all of their green, red and orange glory, I take a mental picture in my mind and flip it over. In the back, I write, “Wish you were here.”
Enjoy your weekend.
Erin