Adventures in Letter Writing No. 73: A Letter a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

These days are weird, right? Scary, uncertain, full of angst, boring, intermittent excitement, endless, nameless (which day is it?), viewed from a million and one different perspectives, but definitely weird. It might be just me but I’m pretty certain it’s not from the conversations I’ve had with friends and family.

Routines have all gone awry. Not helped by half the family being early birds and the other being night owls, me being in the latter. Just as an aside, and old news in terms of covid and nature, but I had the loveliest letter from a member the other day and it said they were kept awake by courting owls. Not me. Real owls. (Ha, that reminds me of “I’m here live, I’m not a cat.“) There’s going to be such bizarre historical references for this period of time in the future. People are going to think we all went mad…

But really, hats off and double salutes for all those who have got up at normal time, washed, dressed and been “at work” (real or home) for this last year. I am in awe. My only way of coping has been to come up here to the shed and write letters, but on a positive it’s meant I do have letters I need to post which gets me out for a walk. That routine started about November time. There are some days I don’t go but I distinctly remember heading out at dusk around late autumn to the postbox (5pm collection) and then carrying on for a walk down and round the streets of Swanage. There aren’t many routes but it was nice to take in the ever growing number of Christmas lights and trees in windows during the run up to the festivities, and then seeing them gradually disappearing after, and it wasn’t long before the days started to feel lighter. Admiring the pretty lights before Christmas I’d toyed with writing little notes to put through the doors to say thank you for brightening my walk but decided there is eccentric and there is eccentric. Now I get to see the ever growing spring bulbs and pretty flowers and amazing magnolia blossoms. I’m not nocturnal at all now! Possibly still crepuscular (nice word) but there are definitely fewer folk out at that time. And the clocks go forward soon so I’ll be feeling positively diurnal.

I decided though, the one thing that does give my day structure is having a letter to post. Just the one is fine although I do like a Monday because you get three and a bit days to gather together lots of letters to post. I’ve given up trying to catch the Saturday lunchtime one, apart from that day we went really early (before 9am!) for #PostboxSaturday, usually because I’ve got a bit lost in #PostboxSaturday.

But it’s strange the reconditioning that has taken place these last 12 months. Am I going to be able to reset myself to be up and out of my pjs before, well at the earliest 10am? It’s not that I’m just sitting around in them, sometimes I get lost in what I’m doing (even housework on occasions) but I love how writing a letter is the one thing that sets me up for the day. However weird, and whichever day, it is.

As you were.

Dinah

My Letter Writing Shed aka Sanity Saver

4 thoughts on “Adventures in Letter Writing No. 73: A Letter a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

  1. Becky says:

    It’s gorgeous seeing photos of all your letters about to go on their postal journey. It’s so satisfying posting a bundle of colourful envelopes into the post box. ☺

  2. Debbie says:

    Such a good idea to use your letters as the reason for daily walk! I have high hopes of doing the same, then grown-up son offers to take them when he’s going out, and I don’t bother 😉

    1. D1nah_ says:

      How lovely to have a personal post taker! I think I would probably be the same if someone offered to take them for me too! (Don’t tell anyone!) 😀

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