Every day, it seems I hear about critically important skills that we are losing because of changes around us. We are losing the ability to navigate for ourselves since GPS does it for us. A friend recently shared a story that her daughter who just arrived at her freshman year of college needed instruction on how to send a letter. Literally. She needed to know how and where to buy a stamp and where to put the addressed-and-ready-to-send envelope. She’s a smart kid with smart parents, but had just never mailed a letter. Chen’s article (see full article) on ‘the dullest skill’ is spot on as well. Successful managers need skills in good written communication. How will life change if we lose the ability to express ourselves through the written word? I heard a speaker recently talk about letter-writing as special because it demonstrates an investment in the relationship. Pulling out a notecard, putting pen to paper, addressing an envelope, and mailing a letter require time and more/different effort than composing an email. When we write the card or letter or do the tasks associated with mailing a letter, we’ve been considering the person to whom we’re writing throughout that process. Sometimes our investment in relationships happens in the cracks of time and life. Sometimes an investment in a relationship can be about buying a stamp, as much as it is about the grander, more celebrated aspects of our relationships with others.