Married to the Empire

Friday, May 2, 2008

Nostalgia

We're doing a furniture switcheroo in our guest room. The queen-sized bed in there was eating up the room, so we gave it to friends for their guest room. We're replacing it with something smaller. I'll show pictures of that when it's all done.

Because of moving the big bed out, I had to pull out the things that were under the bed. Not much, as we really aren't packrats, just a linens bag with our sheets and towels that we use each summer for youth camp and a box of letters. I hadn't looked at my box of letters in years, and I'd actually entertained thoughts of getting rid of it. But once I opened that box, I knew I'd have to keep it.



It's filled with cards and letters from friends and family. Letters from friends are bundled and tied with ribbons. We moved a lot when I was a kid, so I had certain friends I kept up with. I used to spend my algebra class writing multiple-page letters to my best friend from junior high school. (Don't worry; I did that because my algebra class moved too slowly for me. I was bored and had very high grades.)

I have cards signed "Love, Grandma and Grandpa." My grandpa died when I was 11. Those are now too precious to throw away.

I found a very large envelope with my dad's company's logo on it. It had our European home address on it, so I was curious about what large thing my parents sent me. Inside the envelope was this:



My daddy just wanted to make sure that while I was half a world away at college, I had a resource to let me know a little about my car and how it worked. Not that I ever cracked that book open, but it was a sweet gesture. And kind of funny because he had to know that I'd never read it!

The box of letters now has a new home under my bed. When I have a little time, I think I'll sit down and really read through some of those old letters. A little nostalgia can be a good thing.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That will be neat, to sit down and read those letters. I love how you wrote letters in algebra. There's no way I could have done that, I was so lost in algebra.

AnneK said...

I try not to read old letters. It makes me cry especially the ones written by my parents the first few months I was here.

Cathy VanPatten said...

Aw, I love it when I find stuff like that. Yeah, I get teary reading letters from my grandparents and my dad, knowing that those letters are the only way I can connect to their words ever again. But it is a good teariness.

My mom recently sent me an envelop of letters I wrote her and my dad in the first few years I lived in San Francisco. THOSE are fascinating, because they return me to a part of my life that was very happy, yet ultimately quite unfulfilled. Amazing what perspective a couple of decades can give!

Lydia said...

What precious memories! I grew up as an MK and now wish I had kept more letters. We lived all over and there wasn't email in those earlier years (I'm 32). I love your blog, I'm a SAHM who loves Jesus more than anything and my Star Wars fan of husband comes second!