writing home

I admit, I love it. I think writing letters is one of the most personal things you can do, and - come on - we all get excited when we get a letter in the post that doesn't come from a bank.

I just love everything about it - the feel of the paper and the taste of licking the envelope, deciding what to write and how to write it, and crowning it with a perfectly-written address and golden stamp on the front. I could go on and on about it - and probably will if I don't rein it in - but really there is nothing else like it.

I think one of the things that makes it all so exciting is that you get to see people's handwriting. When almost everything now is typed, with only signatures being the main handwritten words, you can't help but feel you get a little bit of the person communicating to you through their writing. There is a vulnerability to it - voicing your thoughts and feelings through your penmanship. That is why it's so appealing.

Then there is the actual writing to consider. What colour? What kind of pen? Pencil? Lined paper, or plain? So much can be gleaned from these little details.

And that moment, when you almost step over the little envelope on your doormat - with your name on the front.

That's why I love letters.