I don’t know how many times I’ve said to myself, “I wish I/I ought to/I want to write more letters.” I just don’t. I email, talk on the phone, text (I have several ongoing text conversations that are priceless), use Facebook, or play Words With Friends (you’d be surprised how connected you can feel when you’re trading words with someone you don’t see very often).

I have a lot of excuses for not writing letters, none of them very good: My handwriting has gotten sloppy, I’m not comfortable holding a pen for very long, I’m busy, I don’t have anything important to say… Hogwash. I think I spend more time justifying not writing letters than it would take to actually write one.

Writing letters was always a pleasure. I used to correspond with friends and family. I love that word. Correspondence. When did I begin to neglect it? I’d like to get into the habit of writing a letter or a note, the same way I email or call or post on a wall.

So I decided to participate in the Month of Letters Challenge, which I think I read about on Facebook. It can’t be that hard, and it promises be interesting! February is the perfect month for a daily shake-up, too. It’s such a long month, even though it has fewer days. I feel like challenging myself out of the winter doldrums, and a little letter-writing might to do the trick.

I even unearthed my trusty Parker 45 “Flighter” for the occasion, figuring that I’ll be more inclined to write if I have a nice pen. It was a gift from my parents some time in the late 1960’s, and was most certainly purchased at the House Stationery Store, since both of my parents worked on Capitol Hill then. It’s a simple, inexpensive pen, but I’ve always loved it. They aren’t made any more, but I still found ink cartridges at my local office supply store. I don’t know what happened to the little converter that lets me fill it from a bottle of ink; it will appear one of these days.

After the yarn stopped flying at the end of my Family Project, I took a short knitting break. I’ve been knitting, but slowly. I always cast on a new project at the New Year, and this time it was a Ptarmigan Cowl. I had the perfect skein of cashmere for Spirit Trail, too.

It’s a rainy Wednesday — a good time to dash off a note, wouldn’t you say? Happy February! I’ll be posting a poem tomorrow for the annual Silent Poetry Reading, a blog tradition that I’ve participated in since 2006 (wow).  Do you have a favorite poem to share?