I have a confession.... I'm in love with another man.

I only know of him as Will and of his true love as Annie and well, I fell in love on a rainy Sunday afternoon in my shop. You see - a young lady came in wanting to sell a whole lot of old postcards among other things that she had inherited from her family that belonged to her great great grandfather. She had no interest in keeping them. This was always the challenge I faced. I love the history of the old and part of my business is to sell rare and beautiful finds but the other part of me wants to convince them to keep their heirlooms.. But - with most things, money is the root of all evil and they want what they think it is worth. Anyway - enough about business.

As I sifted through the postcards and there was well over 50, I started to see a pattern, it was the correspondents between two sweethearts during the war. As my eyes started to well with tears, I asked again if she was sure she didn't want just a few. Not one was kept. As the day was coming to an end, I sat down in my office and arranged them in order as best I could. It looks to have started in 1916 (WW1) and the last stamp that I can make out is in 1943 (WWII)... 

We start with them courting through to marriage. How could I separate these postcards? I couldn't, and now they live in my drawer beside my bed. I often pull them out and read through them, it's a great leveller to my problems, I haven't gone to war, I haven't been separated from my love ones for months on end. And I haven't had to see things in my lifetime that will chill me to my core. I am blessed and these postcards sometime remind me.

Will traveled through Egypt, England, Langland Bay, Palestine, Paris, to name just a few.

And Yes - I love this man, for all that he represents. I wished I could give him a hug. I loved that he showed his heart in these cards to his Dear Annie.

 They often started with " To Darling Annie" or "Dearest Annie" and ended with "From Yours Will" or "Love Will" made out in X's to symbolises his love.

I will leave you with a passage on one of his Postcard;

"I send you love, my own dear wife,

From the longing of my heart,

You're dearer now to me,

Though we're so far apart:

I think about you day by day,

At night I dream of you,

Though war may take me far away,

You'll know I'll come back true.."

Bless this man and his dear Annie.