An Old Soul

Our winter weather this year has been brutal, with crazy winds, temps near or below zero degrees Fahrenheit for weeks at a time, and just over 100 inches of snow so far—reminiscent of the winters when my family first moved to Central New York.

One week in February was particularly dreadful. My husband was traveling abroad; I was home alone fretting over the weather and battling a sinus infection.

I spent most of those days sitting on the couch with my iPad binge-watching Downton Abbey. Totally out of character for me! It's rare that I watch tv at all, and I don't think I've ever binge-watched something in my life. I'm not even sure how it occurred to me to turn on that show. But the last straw before the binge was when I opened my back door to this view:

After that exposure, I found myself each day looking forward to what the Crawley family was up to.

I see now why so many people blathered on incessantly about the series. I most enjoyed watching their tea-drinking rituals and the exorbitant exchange of hand-written correspondence . . . basically the ways they slowed their harried lives to share with the people around them.

Who knew a person could sit on the couch and waste so many hours watching other people drink tea and write letters! I know, I'm behind the times. 😉

I've often said I'm an old soul born a few decades too late. There are many old-fashioned activities I find appealing, usually the routines that helped make life more personal. More relational.

What really got my thinking about that week at home alone was a newsletter I received in my inbox, published by Wonder Pens Stationery Shop, titled "Letter Writing Club." It mentions a letter-writing event they hosted at their shop, and I thought that was a brilliant idea.

A friend of mine recommended that newsletter to me. She, too, writes a blog, From the Pen Cup. More importantly, at least to me, she writes. As in, she puts pen to paper, in real life, to real people. Her penmanship is a vision to behold. And a treasure to receive.

It's nice to see there are still people out there continuing the craft, desiring to connect with people.

I've tried a few times to begin a letter-writing exchange, but they always turned into one-sided affairs. Much like other relationships I've one-sidedly held dear . . . more appreciated by me alone.

I tend to hold too high of an expectation that other people also appreciate close connections. I'm trying to learn to lower those expectations. Kind of sad to think things might be moving in the direction of lowered expectations.

Again . . . I'm an old soul in the wrong generation!