Remember I Will Always be in Love with You.
As I write this letter
Send my love to you
Remember that I’ll always
Be in love with you
How many emails do you receive a day? It seems I spend more and more time reading emails, text messages, and internet news than I really care to do. I’ve read that our human brains aren’t
“designed” to handle such an influx of information. We are overloaded, overburdened.
Yet what a special surprise it is to open one’s physical mailbox and discover a letter or card sent to you.
Knowing that someone took the time to not only hand write a note, but to buy an envelope, stamp it, and take it to a post office makes that small piece of paper so meaningful. Thoughts put down on paper that one can hold in one’s hands and always treasure (rather than dismiss with one stroke of the delete
button).
And so, it was with a very special letter on a very special day. My niece was turning eighteen, which is a milestone in every teenager’s life, but especially significant because my niece had overcome many physical challenges to reach that age. My mother, who passed away eleven years ago, had her own health issues and recognized she might not “be around” to celebrate her granddaughter’s significant birthday, so she wrote her a letter.
She entrusted me to hold this precious letter until the occasion. Somehow through all these years I’d managed not to forget the secret place I’d stashed it. But I had forgotten its contents.
Besides the actual note, there were several coins: Susan B Anthony dollars, Sacagawea dollars, and a JFK half dollar. They were significant to my mother, who wanted to share with my niece to recognize women who made a difference, and also a president who gave the country hope. She said, “It’s important to remember that your choices are for you to make. Find something you like to do and then work will seem like play and an extension of yourself.” There was more for my niece to treasure.
My niece was over the moon, happy to receive it. She’d only visited with my mother before she was three. Although there are photos, unfortunately she had no memories of it.
My husband and I visited her in California just to deliver this letter in person. It wouldn’t have the same effect on zoom. She jumped up and down when I told her what her Grammy left her. Then after I read it, we both shed tears.
Such a legacy, a love letter written to her long before she was eighteen. There are moments in life that connect, guide, and inspire us. In this time around Thanksgiving, I am grateful for those who have gone before us, benefitting from their life stories.
What legacy should we leave the next generations?
