By Daci Platt
(Kveller) — Last summer, my daughter went to Jewish summer camp for 12 days, which meant that finally finally! — I could experience the ultimate dream for a ’90s kid like myself, second only to getting slimed: writing to a pen pal.
Yes, most summer camps now allow you to email your kids, but I needed my 9-year-old to feel the magic of opening an envelope, of wondering what could possibly be inside that made it so deliciously thick, as she narrowly escaped a paper cut. I sent her actual snail mail, and reader, I was extra about it.
In one letter I included perfume samples from magazines and asked her to write back with which one she liked best. But I like to think my best work was a letter I sent toward the end of camp. I wrote a short note on a 4×6 notecard and decorated it with washi tape (colorful Japanese masking tape). I included a sticker for her water bottle with another note attached to it that said “saw this and thought of you!” I put the note and the sticker in an envelope, and then found a second, smaller envelope, on which I wrote “open for a secret.” I took a selfie with an automatic Instax camera and used my label maker to write “i miss you” on the selfie, and put it in the smaller envelope — which I placed in the bigger envelope, sealed and sent.
I’m going to be honest with you: She didn’t want to go back to summer camp this year. But I’m grateful we had at least one summer where I was able to ditch my responsibilities and play with paper for a few minutes, and hopefully make her feel very loved in the process.
