I never really got to know my grandparents on my mom's side. My grandfather had died before I was born, and my grandmother died when I was only about 4 years old. When I was in high school, it really started to hit me that despite the countless stories I had heard about my grandparents, I would never really be able to know them. This broke my heart. I remember talking to my mom about this, asking her for more stories, more glimpses into who they were. Then she walked into her closet and pulled out a box.
When I opened the box, I was amazed. There were hundreds of letters from my Grandfather to my Grandmother from during times when they were apart from each other. For weeks, I worked through reading the letters. Documented forever on those little pieces of paper was the personalities of my grandparents and the love that they had for each other. My grandmother had saved every letter, and I know that my mom and her siblings cherish having this reminder of their parents even more than I cherish the chance to gain insight into their lives. I hope to someday show these letters to my children, that they may too be able to learn more about their Great-Grandparents.
Yesterday, I received my first letters from Chris while at OCS. I don't think I can even begin to explain how special they are to me. It's difficult being away from the ones you love, but I truly think that having these little letters as timeless documentation of this adventure we are on and our love we have for each other is priceless. These letters will forever be one of my most treasured possessions. I hope that someday my children and grandchildren will be able to read these letters and cherish them as much as my mom and I cherish those letters from my grandparents.
In this time of forever expanding technology and instantaneous communication, I think we often take for granted the ability we have to talk to our loved ones whenever we want. We forget that this life is short, and so quickly discard our text messages, e-mails, and facebook posts from our loved ones. It's sad to me that these little treasures of communication just get "lost in space" never to be seen again.
So I guess what I'm saying is, write more letters. Even if you're not away from your loved one, every once in awhile take a few minutes to sit down and write a letter that will act as a timeless documentation of your love, friendships, and personalities. Or perhaps, think twice before deleting your e-mails. Maybe take an extra second to push print and make a box of these treasured conversations. The blessing it may bring both to yourself and to your loved ones is worth it!
And lastly, thank your mailman. :)
I'm a huge letter fan. When my very close friend went to marine boot camp, I wrote him letters every week and still have all thirteen he sent me. The whole first year boyfriend and I dated I wrote him letters. When I didn't know how to tell him my feelings, when I didn't know my feelings myself, when big event happened, when I was overcome with emotion and he wasn't around. I gave him my letters on our first anniversary and he about cried. And its amazing to have an exact explanation of feelings to pick up months and years from now and transport you. I hope you enjoy your letter writing :)
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