Week 8: Catch up with friends

Guys, I'm just gonna say it: I have the BEST family and friends.

Yup, it's true. You can argue with me and try to convince me that yours are better, but I'll always know the truth. Mine win, hands down, every day of the week. As evidence, here's exhibit A:

By the time I arrived at my house in Arizona at the end of my cross-country road trip with Elle, I already had a huge stack of mail waiting to greet me. I decided to put some of my cards on display, so I turned the curtain rod into a clothesline and hung up all of my mail. Well, not even 5 weeks in, it was full! I've already had to start switching out old cards for new ones because I ran out of hooks. I feel so very loved.

...Which is totally undeserved, at least in this case. How many of these cards had I answered at the start of week 8? A big fat zero. To make matters worse better, I had a birthday in week 7 of this year and got tons of amazing gifts that I needed to write thank-you notes for! The need to write letters was getting dire, and I decided that week 8 would be dedicated to writing letters, chatting on the phone, and generally being a better communicator than I have been since my move to Phoenix.

It's crazy to me that I even needed to make this a mini-resolution. I absolutely love writing letters. I have an unhealthy obsession with paper products and a hugely sentimental appreciation for the written word. When I consider all of the normal, everyday things that have fallen by the wayside in the last few months, I realize that adjusting to a new job, a new city, and new friends has taken a lot more energy than I thought it would. I wanted to get back into a routine and do some things that were comforting and gave me a sense of stability. Writing letters was perfect. It would be enjoyable, calming, and make me feel connected to the people that I miss being with every day.

Photo via

So, did you do it? Yes! As soon as I could! I studied all day on the first day of week 8, and when I was burnt out on that, I sat down with some stationery and a pen and got busy. I wrote a total of 8 letters*, which I like to think of as one for each week of this year that has passed. Super success!

*And if I haven't written you back yet, I definitely will soon - it was such a nice way to spend my Sunday evening and I'm hoping that I can follow in Nutritionella's shoes and participate in Snail Mail Sunday every week!