The one good thing about not seeing you is that I can write you letters. ~Svetlana Alliluyeva

D challenged me earlier this year to calculate the number of times i've moved since i left 'home' at the age of 18. i can't remember exactly, but i think the number hovered around 20. that's an average of 1.5 moves/year for the past 13 years. (ugh. just thinking about that stresses me out.) in all of my nomadic experience i've certainly learned to carefully discard belongings with great ease. i'm rarely sentimental over physical objects. i have a small tin box that contains only a handful of 'memorabilia'- a few small trinkets from my childhood, random pictures, my 'sorority' shirt, dozens of concert tickets, an amulet from a dear friend...and letters. lots & lots & lots of letters. 

this precious display of love (which is only a small fraction!) contains birthday & thank you cards, thinking of you mementos, kind words of celebration, contrite apologies and wise words of encouragement. they're from dad & mom, grandparents, 'parents' of dogs i fostered, and old & new friends that have spanned college, grad school & beyond. 

i must say that a generous staple of this collection was the effort of my love, D, writing for many months from 1000 miles away. even after moving here, the cards haven't ceased. =) 

another heaping portion is thanks to my most faithful pen pal, ms. jennifer brittain. one of my dearest blessings in this life has been the 10+ years that we've been sharing our lives via snail mail. i've seriously contemplated compiling our cards to write a book someday!   

so...to each & every friend who has written me a thoughtful card in the past 13 years, please know it means the world to me. enough to drag across hundreds of miles & dozens of moves! in fact, a few years ago when i was practicing in sayre, my parents called me in the middle of the night when i was travelling. a nearby house in my neighborhood was ablaze & my house was in danger of burning down. when they asked what i wanted them to grab from the house, this collection was second only to my financial files. it is truly one of my greatest treasures. 

any post from me can not be complete without a soundtrack, so here's some musical wisdom from the great Neil Young:

One of These Days

One of these days,
I'm gonna sit down
and write a long letter
To all the good friends I've known
And I'm gonna try
And thank them all
for the good times together.
Though so apart we've grown.

One of these days,
I'm gonna sit down
and write a long letter
To all the good friends I've known
One of these days,
one of these days,
one of these days,
And it won't be long, it won't be long.

And I'm gonna thank,
That old country fiddler
And all those rough boys
Who play that rock 'n' roll
I never tried to burn any bridges
Though I know I let some good things go.

One of these days,
I'm gonna sit down
and write a long letter
To all the good friends I've known
One of these days,
one of these days,
one of these days,
And it won't be long, it won't be long.

From down in L.A.
All the way to Nashville,
From New York City
To my Canadian prairie home
My friends are scattered
Like leaves from an old maple.
Some are weak, some are strong.

One of these days,
I'm gonna sit down
and write a long letter
To all the good friends I've known
One of these days,
one of these days,
one of these days,
And it won't be long, it won't be long.