Letters of note

On Christmas Eve I wrote a tiny letter to Madeleine, tied it up with red ribbon, and slid it into a Christmas bauble with some glitter and coloured confetti.

It was a very simple letter. I just told her some bits and pieces about her first Christmas, since she wouldn’t remember it herself. Where we lived, how we would start the day, all our visits with family and friends. I told her about the friends who were coming for brunch, and how we would pick up her big sister from the airport at lunch time. I told her about how her five-year-old cousin Livvy had special clothes posted to us ahead of time so that Madeleine could wear them when we visited and the girls would have matching outfits. I told her about our tree and her presents. I told her how gloriously fat her little legs were, and how much she liked to laugh. I told her how much she was loved.

The bauble was decorated on the outside with a big M for Madeleine and 1 for her first Christmas. Each year, I’ll make a new bauble, and write a new letter.

This morning at six o’clock while I was feeding Madeleine and flicking through the Internet on my iPhone, I discovered a stunning blog called Letters of Note, which curates and republishes funny, profound, touching and unusual letters written by famous people throughout the ages. Here is a letter written by journalist and diplomat Walter H. Page to his infant grandson, on the grandson’s first Christmas. Page’s letter is somewhat more witty and intelligent than mine to M, I must say.

Whenever you next have time on your hands, have a browse through this blog. But a word of caution: it is very, very addictive.