I seemingly can’t turn down the “Month of <insert some activity here>” programs. Like a moth to flame, or like a Laura to cookies, I’m drawn to the structure and focus of it. It feels like an accomplishment of sorts to do something for 30 days straight.
This time around it’s Susannah Conway’s Month of Love Letters, which has me writing a love letter to a particular person/object/idea every day. I’ve played around with the idea of writing to someone rather than just writing (usually it’s to myself or to someone else in particular) and it changes my perspective and somehow the words just come out a little differently than were I writing into the ether.
I imagine that some of my letters will be short and sweet and some will be lengthy and complicated, others perhaps just friendly and chatty. I’ll post each day even though they might be more of a “postlet” rather than a full post. The prompts will be good for making me think and touch into a little of my creativity. If you’re interested in joining, whether doing it publicly or not, you can find the information here. Or feel free to compose your own letters for the prompts that spark your interest and leave them in the comments.
This is the list of prompts:
And away we go! My first love letter, fittingly, to love:
Dear Love,
There are times when I sit home on a Friday or Saturday night and feel like somehow you’ve eluded me. A half a lifetime ago, I never would have imagined myself still single and firmly entrenched in middle age, love having seemingly skipped over me. But then, Love, I look around and know that you’ve been bestowed upon me in an abundance of ways: a wonderful family (how many families truly enjoy each other’s company like mine does?), a roommate who taught me how to share a living space with someone again (without that someone wanting to stab me in my sleep), friends who have been at my side for decades and met a version of me that I might not even recognize anymore, other friends who drive hundreds of miles to hang out, co-workers that make not being able to retire immediately not such a bad thing and a dog that I choose to believe loves me for more than just feeding her every day. How blessed I am!
Love, you might not be in my life in an average, run of the mill way, but you’re present in everything I do and all the people I meet. You’re in the sunrise and the moon rise, in the smiles of the other runners I tiredly wave to when I’m out and even in the happily chirping birds that sometimes wake me up far too early on a weekend morning. You’re kind of the glue that holds the world together, aren’t you? It’s funny how I didn’t even notice how you did that, Love, until I started looking. And there you were. Everywhere. Like you always had been.
Love,
Me.
I am enrolled in this April love letter challenge, too, though I haven’t yet begun. This line especially made me pause and reflect on my own journey around love: “A half a lifetime ago, I never would have imagined myself still single and firmly entrenched in middle age, love having seemingly skipped over me.” I think you’ll get a kick out of the synchronicity in our posts this week! xxoo
Loved your post! And yes – it feels like there were certain ideas and themes that were in the air, ripe for picking.
I have signed up for Susannah Conway’s August Break the last two summers and found the discipline of just having to post a photograph every day very energising, and like you I got a real sense of accomplishment. Last year I signed up for her December Break (unrealistic, moi?) and didn’t post a single thing. December is just way too busy for me. I enjoyed reading your post Laura, hope you enjoy the rest of the month X