Monday, May 07, 2007

Letters


I love letters. I love receiving them, the fat envelope stuffed with goodness knows what, the thoughts and feelings of a friend you haven't seen in months. I love opening them and seeing what is inside.


I love sending letters. I love taking the time to make it more than a few lines scribbled on a piece of paper or a faceless electronic message sent off in a few seconds. Selecting the stationary, the enclosures, the decorations for the envelope all take time and require you to think about who you're sending the letter to. One friend might like bird stickers while the other likes ribbons.


And then the letter itself--what handwriting to use? (A friend of Tolkien's once said that he had as many handwritings as he had friends.) Which books to talk about? What have you been doing recently that would be interesting? A letter to my godmother looks and feels vastly different than one to my friend in Wisconsin.


Guess what I'll be doing tonight?
Picture from "North and South," edited by me

3 comments:

Ruth said...

My grandma kept a lot of letters and handwritten cards. Going through them is a real pleasure and link to the past. By the way....I love the movie North and South and never tire of watching it again.

Katie said...

I love getting letters! The problem is I don't have time to write letters, (it took me 2 weeks to write the last one, 30 minute lunch breaks don't fill many pages :) ) I'm not the best writer either... sooo... I don't write many....

MaureenE said...

Ruth, that sounds so neat! I love old letters too. North and South is definitely a keeper.

Katie, I know! College has wreaked havoc on my letter writing time. But I hope to catch up again this summer.