Nostalgic and Hip: Juxtapositions in Sender's Voice
Aunt Carol certainly had a unique voice that featured words and sentiments from her long life as well as moments of being current and "hip." In the card from 2002, she is sending me congratulations for my high school graduation and encouragement for starting into my college career. She tells me that I'll "knock their socks off in college." Juxtaposing this older cliche with the more modern (and slightly odd) phrase "So sic 'em'" captures Aunt Carol's voice. She was always bridging her upbringing and traditions with the modern world.
In the 2004 card, she acknowledges current events and concerns by hoping that my "knees [were] holding up" after my second knee surgery. In the same sentence, she uses the word "swimmingly" to describe my college experience, which feels a bit out of place, a little quirky, and completely endearing.
Although it had been a couple of years since I had received a card that made explicit reference between watercolor painting and handwritten message, Aunt Carol makes this connection in the card she sent in 2006. The reference also adds to her voice that continues to bridge "traditional" and "modern." At the beginning of the message, she gives a list of good things that she hopes I have for my birthday, including "vibes." The word choice feels a bit out of place when she follows her list with a description of the watercolor image: "This image is from my youth when ladies wore hats and winking was the naughtiest thing they did." Although she says that things have changed but "not for the better," I would argue that she has continued to shape her vocabulary and voice over the years, even though her views on relationships and flirting have remained nostalgic for a more conservative past.