11-year-old's thank you letter to postman melts hearts on Twitter
Gesture of kindness shows importance of 'small things' during times of pandemic
Emerson writing to her pen pals. (Photo: @hughweber)
In a stark reminder of the uplifting impact of small gestures, the story of an eleven-year-old writing a letter to her postman to thank him for his services has resulted in an outpouring of emotion on social media.
Em, as she is lovingly called, has a serious letter-writing habit, with a penchant for hand-decorating letters and envelopes, Weber revealed.
"A letter from Emerson is likely to include some art, a joke or two, a mention of her younger brother, confessions of her love for Taylor Swift and enough questions to guarantee a response."
In her letter to Doug the mailman, Emerson introduces herself before sharing her reasons for writing the letter.
"You are very important to me. I make people happy with my letters, but you do too," she wrote.
She added that she was grateful to the postman for helping her stay in touch with her friends as she doesn't have a phone. "You make it possible!"
Touched by the gesture, the postman shared Em's letter with his supervisor, and they both wrote back to express their appreciation.
But that wasn't the end of it. The supervisor had shared Em's hand-written letter in an internal newsletter of the postal service, and a lot of postal workers wanted to write back to her.
The supervisor's note to Emerson's parents. (Photo: @hughweber)
Doug has already delivered to Emerson two boxes of letters from postal workers around the country, and she is already busy penning replies.
Letters Emerson received. (Photo: @hugweber)
The letters, says Weber, are 'deeply human' in which people talk about their own joys and worries.
As Emerson writes back to her pen-pals, her father hopes that these letters serve as an encouragement for staying in touch with people who are locked down because of the pandemic.
A digital storyteller, Weber also took the opportunity to convey an important message regarding mental well-being, which resonated with social media users.
"It’s #MentalHealthAwareness month and I want to be bold and brave like Em. We’re all in a moment of physical isolation that is amplifying a real epidemic of loneliness, anxiety and depression. I’ve been feeling it personally since long before we locked our front door," he tweeted.
According to Weber, the moral of the story is: it's the small things that matter most.
The story had many in tears while applaud continues to pour in commending the Webers for raising a wonderful child, while people from far corners of the globe asked whether they could become pen-pals with Em.
The original tweet has already received 50,000 likes and 17,500 retweets, while the cumulative number is much higher.
According to Weber, "over 7 MILLION people read Em's USPS story. Nearly 600k liked, retweeted, commented or "engaged." Insane".
Em, as she is lovingly called, has a serious letter-writing habit, with a penchant for hand-decorating letters and envelopes, Weber revealed.
"A letter from Emerson is likely to include some art, a joke or two, a mention of her younger brother, confessions of her love for Taylor Swift and enough questions to guarantee a response."
In her letter to Doug the mailman, Emerson introduces herself before sharing her reasons for writing the letter.
"You are very important to me. I make people happy with my letters, but you do too," she wrote.
She added that she was grateful to the postman for helping her stay in touch with her friends as she doesn't have a phone. "You make it possible!"
Touched by the gesture, the postman shared Em's letter with his supervisor, and they both wrote back to express their appreciation.
But that wasn't the end of it. The supervisor had shared Em's hand-written letter in an internal newsletter of the postal service, and a lot of postal workers wanted to write back to her.
The supervisor's note to Emerson's parents. (Photo: @hughweber)
Doug has already delivered to Emerson two boxes of letters from postal workers around the country, and she is already busy penning replies.
Letters Emerson received. (Photo: @hugweber)
The letters, says Weber, are 'deeply human' in which people talk about their own joys and worries.
As Emerson writes back to her pen-pals, her father hopes that these letters serve as an encouragement for staying in touch with people who are locked down because of the pandemic.
A digital storyteller, Weber also took the opportunity to convey an important message regarding mental well-being, which resonated with social media users.
"It’s #MentalHealthAwareness month and I want to be bold and brave like Em. We’re all in a moment of physical isolation that is amplifying a real epidemic of loneliness, anxiety and depression. I’ve been feeling it personally since long before we locked our front door," he tweeted.
According to Weber, the moral of the story is: it's the small things that matter most.
The story had many in tears while applaud continues to pour in commending the Webers for raising a wonderful child, while people from far corners of the globe asked whether they could become pen-pals with Em.
The original tweet has already received 50,000 likes and 17,500 retweets, while the cumulative number is much higher.
According to Weber, "over 7 MILLION people read Em's USPS story. Nearly 600k liked, retweeted, commented or "engaged." Insane".