I read somewhere that this week is National Letter Writing Week. I love writing letters. I love picking out stationery, heavy paper, with just a hint of design, so that it doesn’t overpower the message. I love thinking about what I’m going to say. Not thinking in the sense of “how can I say this in 140 characters or less?” but thinking as in “what is the essence of the message I want to convey?” What words or phrases will let the reader know this message is especially for them? And I love the physical act of writing. Of placing dark ink on heavy paper and making slightly angular, slightly curved connecting letters, slanting slightly upwards.

But most of all, I love the intimacy of a letter. The suspense before opening the envelope.  Holding the paper, reading a message intended for one person only, not for a hundred  followers. Knowing that a part of me is with the recipient, a shared experience for just the two of us.