Who could forget the scene in Sex and the City when Carrie Bradshaw and Big are sitting in bed together after a long day and Carrie cracks open the book Love Letters of Great Men.
She reads love letters by some of the greatest poets, writers, and artists of all times, like Voltaire and Beethoven.Here an exerpt from Beethoven’s third love letter that Carrie reads to Big and it also includes the last three lines that Big says to Carrie when they get married.
Be calm – love me – today – yesterday – what tearful longings for you – you – you – my life – my all – farewell. Oh continue to love me – never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.
ever thine
ever mine
ever ours
I think just about every woman in the theatre sighed, as their hearts melted. What woman doesn’t love a love letter; your heart and soul poured from pen to paper. It is a special gift, romantic, a small gesture to express your love for the people in your life but is the love letter a lost art?
I mean really who writes – I mean hand writes – letters to each other anymore, let alone love letters? So I went to some online friends to see how many of them write love letters and I was pleasantly surprised.
Gillian is one of those people. She says the love letters started before she and her husband were married. The first letter came as a surprise from her husband. “When I was digging for my car keys the next morning, I found it. A one page, delicious letter of his dreams, his love for me. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me” says Gillian. Her husband would even mail some of these love letters.Years later, Gillian says the letters are still coming. “A love letter to us is not necessarily a long drawn out document. Rather, a few sentences reminding one another that we are special and loved. That one small gesture can take away all the regularity of life; work, bills, cleaning, home or whatever it is that consumes our lives.”
For many people the love letter has taken on new form, a more modern twist for many. Tatiana says she writes letters to her daughter and always writes a love letter to her husband on their daughter’s birthday. All in the digital format. Christine, mom, wife and blogger at Coffee & Commutes also uses a more modern flair for her love letters. She says that she and her husband exchange text love notes throughout the day. “We’ve been doing it for a couple of years, mostly since we got our iPhones. They are simple little messages meant to let the other know we’re thinking about each other. Modern day love notes at their best!”
But of course love letters aren’t just the romantic kind; a lot of Moms write love notes and letters to their children. Melanie, writes letters and journals to her son with the plan to give them all to him when he is old enough to read them. Carrie, fitness expert, bootcamp guru and mother of three, says she writes notes to her kids every day and slips them in their lunches. “It is so important to do those little things. To take the few minutes to write a note is sentimental, thoughtful and touching” says Carrie. She and her husband always write cards and letters to each other when one of them has to go away for work.
Stephanie is a wife, mother to two girls and blogger, says her husband writes her love letters for special occasions like anniversaries but more importantly he writes to her before business trips. They are always pen to paper. “I love that after almost 15 years of being married he can still find new ways to tell me he loves me!”
And that is really what it is all about. Putting pen to paper to express your feelings can be one of the most romantic ways to celebrate Valentines Day but it can also be a daily little reminder about how much you love the people in your life. Take the time to write a love letter to the people you love today.