Cozy in Alaska

One activity I’ve always enjoyed is writing letters. I kept up correspondence with friends starting in 1st or 2nd grade. My family moved very frequently, and it was a way to keep in touch. Plus, I love the act of writing and really love receiving a handwritten letter in the mail. It’s such a treat.

I did the 52 letters in a year challenge, where the goal is to write a letter a week for a year, which I managed to complete (though I didn’t stay entirely on schedule). Sending 52 letters to family, friends, and coworkers, resulted in getting quite a few replies. Once I reached my 52 letter goal, I got a little lazier about staying on schedule, though. So, now I have a stack of letters I owe replies to.

One morning I sat down to reply to two letters from my friend Ashley. Both letters were a year apart, which shows how behind I’ve gotten. In my defense, part of the reason I hadn’t replied already was that I intended to write this letter and include it in a package of items I was sending her. It took me awhile to gather the items and materials for the package. But yeah, it didn’t really need to take me a year.

I was particularly excited to write this letter, because I finally got to use the wax seal I received as a Christmas present. I have always wanted one and had never had the opportunity to use one before.

I keep a notebook (from my 52 letter goal days) where I jot notes about the letters I write. I write the date of the letter, who I sent it to, and some notes about the contents. This is to help me avoid being boring and redundant, telling the same stories in each letter.

I lit my current favorite candle, “Read and Chill” by Fly Paper Products, and reread Ashley’s letters to me. I jotted down some of the questions and topics she mentioned in my notebook so I wouldn’t forget to respond to them. When I write a letter, I usually just flow and don’t really know exactly what’s going to come out, so having a list keeps me from missing things.

I don’t necessarily feel like a letter needs to be filled with news. These days I have usually already shared big things via text messages anyway. Usually, my letters are actually more about the mundane, little details and musings of my daily life. Something about this feels more personal and quaint and cozy to read.

My favorite letters to read are usually the ones I get from my dad. I talk to him on the phone and text him frequently, so I’m pretty up to date on the major things going on in his life. His letters give me a window into the things in his life that would probably be too boring to bring up on the phone. He once wrote me a truly delightful letter where almost the entire letter was detailing the type of inks he had used to compose the letter! I saved it (as I do with most letters, to be honest).

Anyway, on this day, the letter I wrote to my friend went on for 7 pages. Maybe some people would find that annoying. Personally, I like long letters. I figure that the recipient can read it in stages, if they’re busy (or stop in the middle…it’s not like I would know!). After I got to the end, I folded the letter, sealed it with the wax, addressed the envelope, and then covered it with fun stickers from my copy of The Antiquarian Sticker Book: Bibliophilia. I then pasted her last letters to me in my journal (my current method for saving letters). Since this letter was going in a package, I didn’t stamp it, but usually I love to look through the stamps on usps.com. They have wonderful options that are regularly added to their shop.

Writing letters at home is a wonderful way to spend quiet, contemplative time alone, while also feeling connected to a friend or family member. And it also blesses the other person to receive the letter and know that you put thought, time, and energy into something just for them.