Perth is about 3,300 km from Sydney, and two or three hours behind it, depending on daylight saving. Texts and video calls cover the distance. A letter is something they can hold, reread and keep in a drawer. Here's how to write one that sounds like you, and how to send it without a printer or a trip to the post office.
Write it by hand or type it, scan it with your phone, and we print it in colour and post it to them, tracked, from $12.
Before you write
- Write to one person. Use the name or nickname only they get.
- Pick one moment, not the whole relationship: the airport goodbye, the first call that ran past midnight.
- Write it fast, the way you'd write an email. Then cut anything that sounds like a greeting card.
A shape that works
- Start with now. Where you are as you write, and what reminded you of them today.
- Remember something. One small, specific memory: what they wore, what they said, what you ate.
- Say what you miss. The ordinary things: their laugh from the next room, the way they make tea.
- Look ahead. The next visit, the countdown, the plan for when the distance ends.
- Sign off as you. The goodbye you'd say out loud, not "Kind regards".
What that looks like
A short one, from Perth to Brisbane, in that shape:
Hey you,
It's 7pm here, so you're probably in bed already with the window open. I'm on the back step with a cup of tea that's gone cold.
I walked past the bakery on Beaufort Street today and nearly bought two vanilla slices out of habit. You'd have eaten the top off yours first, like always.
I miss the small stuff most. You reading the footy scores out loud. Your cold feet.
Twenty-three days until I land. I've already picked the window seat with the first look at the river.
Yours, still on Perth time,
Sam
Swap the general for the specific
A greeting card could say the line on the left. Only you could write the one on the right.
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| I miss you so much. | I miss you singing in the shower, badly. |
| I think about you all the time. | I thought about you at the lights on Hay Street today, for no reason at all. |
| I can't wait to see you. | I've booked the Friday flight. Keep Saturday morning free. |
Lines to get you started
- "Today I walked past … and thought of you."
- "I still think about the night we …"
- "The thing I miss most isn't big. It's …"
- "When I see you next, I want to …"
- "I've never told you this, but …"
Try open-when letters
Write a few short letters, each starting with when to open it, and post them all at once or one a week. Some to start with:
- Open when you can't sleep.
- Open when you've had a rotten day.
- Open when you miss me.
- Open on the day I fly in.
Send each one as its own letter, so they arrive in separate envelopes.
Write it by hand, scan it, send it
A handwritten letter sounds most like you, and you don't need a scanner. Your phone does it in a minute.
- Scan with your phone. On an iPhone, open Notes or Files and choose Scan Documents. On Android, open Google Drive, tap + and choose Scan.
- Use good light. Daylight by a window, with no shadow from your phone across the page.
- Write in dark ink on plain paper, and leave a margin so nothing is cut off when it's printed on A4.
- Keep it in colour. Coloured pens, doodles and stickers print just as they look, at no extra cost.
- Upload every page, as one PDF or as photos in order.
Make it theirs
- Add a photo of the two of you. We print in colour at no extra cost, so it comes out as it looks on your screen.
- Scan a ticket stub, a drawing or a note from your last visit onto the page with the letter.
- Keep it to a page or two. A letter they reread beats one they skim.
Send it quickly, anywhere in Australia
Perth to Brisbane or Hobart to Darwin: upload the letter as a PDF, Word file or photo and add their address. We print it, put it in an Australia Post envelope and post it.
- $12 by regular post, tracked, for up to 12 pages, folded.
- $20 by Express Post, flat in a B4 envelope, usually there the next business day.
- Paid by 2:30pm Melbourne time on a business day, posted that day. The tracking number is emailed to you.
Want it there for a birthday or anniversary? Send it a few business days early, or by Express Post if it's close.
The short version
Pick one memory, say what you miss, look ahead and sign off as you. Write it by hand or type it, scan it with your phone and we post it, printed in colour and tracked, from $12.
More on this: Post a document online in Australia