When I was younger, say 8 or so, I had a penpal that was arranged for me from my elementary school. We exchanged letters every other month. During that same time, a good friend of mine who lived in my building moved to California. It was the saddest day of my life in my childhood, but we promised to keep in touch through letters. Indeed, we did. Then in Junior High School, my best friend and I also had the habit of sending each other letters despite the fact that we only lived 6-8 blocks away from each other.
20 years ago, I didn't have a computer at home so mailing letters were the best way to go. I always looked forward to mailing out my letters because I knew that soon enough, I would get one back, sometimes covered with stickers on the envelopes too. I devoured each letter, sometimes reading it twice and then putting it away in a safe box so that no one else would find it.Nowadays, I no longer mail out letters. Instead we use e-mail. It's just so much quicker and my hands tend to cramp when I write too long. I still look forward to the e-mails. The content is still intriquing to read but the excitement has slowly dissipated with the end of the snail mail era.
Perhaps that's why I make handmade greeting cards. I hope that people remember how great it feels to receive a handwritten note. It doesn't have to happen every month, but if you can manage to send one on birthdays or on occasion, I'm certain it will bring a bit of happiness to the receiver.
Last month, one of my friends turned 28. I didn't text him or e-mail him. Instead, I wrote him a card and mailed it. He called me to tell me he received it and how he appreciated it. It was a simple gesture, but I think I did my job. Snail mail may be old-school but the magic of the handwritten can be powerful. Try it. Next time it's your loved one's birthday, avoid the emails and texts; and send it snail mail.
Aruba is seriously windy nonstop. When we first got there, it wasn't so bad. See my sister's expression?
And the after..
Anyway, moving on.. We stayed at the Westin.
Nice pools but we were drawn to the beach. As my gift to my sister, I treated her to the spa. No photos but we had our massages outside in a cabana. Massage was only okay by my standards, but the ambiance made up for it.
At sunset..
We didn't hang around the beach the whole time we were there. We did some sightseeing on a Jeep Tour.
I sat on one..
Held an unfertilized Ostrich egg..
We also stopped by the Butterfly Museum.
Do you ever see those butterfly displays that are quite expensive? Well, you should only buy the displays that have butteflies that are partially broken and not exactly perfect; because the perfect ones are the butterflies that were killed for the sake of profit! I'm not sure if this is entirely true but I've always been wary about buying these type of displays even though it is very pretty.
Breakast on the boardwalk.
Almost every meal we had was eaten outdoors. 
Aruban beer: Balashi
Oh, and we witnessed 3 weddings during our stay. I've read about destination weddings but to see it in person really makes me think how great it is. I'm already convincing my sister to have a destination wedding when it's her turn to get married.
Happy 25th Sis... see you tonight!
Getting Ready
The bride will not be receiving this for another few months. Oh how I wish I could be there in person to see her reaction. 
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Smeeta
PaperFish
