It’s been a real joy to continue writing cards and letters here in Spain. The whole process, start to finish: composing in my notebook; transcribing onto stationery; stamping the date and address; carrying the full, ripe envelopes to the post office.
Truly, if you want to fill yourself with love for an afternoon, my advice is to write a letter. To a parent, a grandparent, a lover, a friend going through a rough time, a friend you thought of the other day when you watered your plants or saw a beautiful skyline or when something made you laugh.
Occasionally, when the mood strikes, I make little sketches to accompany the words. This is one of the reasons I love writing on paper, as opposed to computers: anytime you feel like it, you can just bust out with a hand-drawn diagram of a fish riding a bicycle. I still smile to think about a sketch I drew to accompany a description of my refrigerator shelf: a standoff between the vegan and vegetarian factions. (Beets, carrots on the one side; eggs and a carton of yogurt on the other — or something like that.)
And this weekend, writing an 8-pager to a certain inspirational someone in Michigan, who should emerge to give their blessings but two of my favorite artists: India Arie and Stevie Wonder. Flanking my quotation of the lyrics to “Wonderful,” Arie’s exquisite song of gratitude to one of her musical heros.
Happy mailing, y’all! :)
love,
katie
Kloncke 
P.S. : As always, if you’d like a letter from me, holla!
katie (dot) loncke (at) gmail (dot) com.
Clearly I would love to write you one.
Letter writing is a meditation for me. How you describe it as love is just so…I see it as giving a piece of myself to another person for infinity. For them to carry with them wherever they go.
Relish that time…relish this time. Where I am right now, the non-stop onslaught of crises and duties, it’s been hard to write letters. It’s just that kind of season for me.