Karla’s Korner: Write On

Write On….

It was my husband’s birthday this week and a large envelope arrived in the mailbox; it was from his sister Diane. Intrigued he carefully opened it to discover four children’s birthday cards, one for each of a child’s first four birthdays. A bit confused he opened the first one and read the following words: “To our darling little David. From Mummy, Daddy & Diane. 28/2/64. With tears filling his eyes he shared these treasures with me; I choked back a flood of emotions knowing just what these cards represented to him and just how much he misses his parents every day. A call with his sister later that day revealed that she had opened a strong box belonging to their parents this week and discovered the cards among the important items carefully tucked away for safekeeping.

Holding the well preserved cards in my hands I imagined little David as he celebrated those sweet birthdays with his family and how special his momma made birthdays for him and his four siblings. She was a rather simple lady, quiet, faithful, gracious and giving and never asked much (if anything) for herself. I imagine a young mother brooding over her five children making sure each of their birthdays was special for them. Holding onto those cards to be discovered as an adult made this birthday extra-special for David. Although gone nearly two years she blessed him on his special day just like she did every year for 50 of his birthdays.

How often do we receive a card, letter or note in the mail read it set it aside and eventually throw it away? Do we even read the entire card, letter or note written inside? It seems that life requires so much time and energy that stopping to read even a small card takes too much time. What if instead of tossing out notes and cards we kept them, tucked them away to pull out at a later date and remember a special event, or the person who sent it?

When we sit down and share our thoughts, sympathies, love, gratitude and everyday life in a written letter we allow ourselves to share in an intimate powerful way; it’s the next best thing to showing up at someone’s door. Letter writing is very personal. It’s something tangible that comes from your hands, from your world and travels through the postal highway and is placed in someone’s mailbox. The recipient handles the paper that you handled and they see your personality and individuality expressed in your handwriting. It is a very intimate experience. One of my greatest treasures is a large box stored away in the closet in my basement. Inside that box are piles of old cards. Somewhere tucked away in somewhat chronological order are birthday cards (and other occasions) given to me by family and special friends since my first birthday. Once in a while I will sit on the floor with my box going through old graduation, wedding and sympathy cards mourning the loss of our precious baby are all tucked away in my box holding onto memories waiting for me to re-visit, remember and reflect.

I encourage you to save special cards, notes and letters you receive. Knowing that keeping everything is impossible it is important to hang on to the ones from those closest to our hearts and those that mark certain milestone events in your life. Even more I encourage you to write a letter to someone special; someone you may not see often. Each week I write a letter to a special friend. The joy I feel knowing on Monday mornings when I place her letter in my mailbox that she will find it tucked away in her mailbox 450 miles away in a few short days is wonderful. Hearing her tell me how special it is to receive those letters each week and how she carefully stores them away makes is even more wonderful.

Hold onto your memories, share yourself through written words to those you love and care for. Contemporary Japanese writer Haruki Murakami once wrote “How wonderful it is to be able to write someone a letter! To feel like conveying your thoughts to a person, to sit at your desk and pick up a pen, to put your thoughts into words like this is truly marvelous.” Children’s author Susan Lendroth shared her thoughts on writing and receiving letters by saying “To write is human, to receive a letter: Devine!” The key is communicating with others, taking time to put a pen to paper and share our thoughts is a gift to both writer and recipient. Write on…..

Peace,
Karla

I think we all need a touch point a place we can go to be inspired. Karla is my children’s teacher, a good friend, and a person with a heart of gold. I hope that her words will inspire you to do more. We are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with. It is important to listen with your heart and proceed with your eyes open. Enjoy!

Read more Karla’s Korner, also please visit Karla’s Lifetime Moms page and read her articles.

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