My mother-in-law left us an unexpected and priceless gift. After she died, my husband and his sister were going through the contents of her house when they discovered every letter we'd written to her during our 46-year marriage. She also kept all the letters my mother had written to her over the years.
During my holidays, I've had time to go through these letters. I read about our early married life, our struggle to have children and. especially the progress of our three children from birth to adulthood. I began writing all these details for my children, and now they have details about when they were small. I discovered much I'd forgotten.
To read the letters written by my mother to my husband's mother is a gift. I wish I'd saved my mother's letters to me, but now I have these letters that tell me things about my own mother I never knew. I see Mom and Mamma shared their great love for us and for our children.
I come from a long line of letter writers and was trained to stay in touch with our parents. My grandparents loved to receive letters from across the ocean. When I was away on a student exchange in 1970, my mother told me my grandfather kept my airmail letters in his pocket and read them daily. Knowing this, I've tried my best to write to our family regularly.
To all of you who write to me. I thank you. The handwritten word is a powerful tool of friendship and it connects us together. Perhaps the greatest gift these letters have given me is to see how much my husband's parent treasured our letters to her. The letters helped her know her grandchildren and feel like part of our lives. I shall collect and arrange them for my children so that they can read the events of our lives and know they were treasured, too.
Keep writing to those you love. Those letters are our greatest gifts to each other.
