I decided to start early on my CHALLENGE. I know I said May 1st....but it really does not matter what day I start as long as I do it for a month straight. A month is a month, right?
I've been thinking a lot lately of writing letters to my sons, and sealing them in an envelope and dating the envelope, and then keeping it in a keepsake box and giving it to them in the future. I know I've seen on TV shows or movies or read in books about terminally ill people doing this for their children so that their children will have something personal from them and be able to "get to know" them when they pass. And that I guess has always stuck with me. What if something ever happened to me - a car accident or something else horrific that I can't come back from. How will my kids know how I feel about them, how much I love them, what I wish for them, etc.? So I've been thinking of just writing them random letters when the feeling strikes me and sealing them up and tucking them away. Does anyone else do this - just because?
I have written them a note every year on their birthdays - so Callan has 3, and Mason has 1. But I want to do it more often than on their birthdays. And they don't have to be long letters. They can be little notes....like on a special day....such as: "We went to the zoo today, and you stood for an hour watching the monkeys play. You would not let us look at any other animals. You were enthralled with the monkeys. Finally I said, "Ok, Monkey Callan, let's go see the other animals." And you looked at me and said, "Mama, I am not a monkey. I don't have hair all over." But you are a monkey, my little monkey, and I love you." Something short and sweet or something a bit longer. For me, my notes/letters would be a bit longer I suppose, since I already have a journal to keep for the little cute notes of things the kids say and do.
What journal-type things do you do for you kids? I do the journal of little cute things they say, and also a scrapbook for each of them that I will give them on their wedding day, or another such special day, plus a scrapbook/journal of all the things we go do and people we see so they can remember their first 5 years of life. Plus I take 100's of photos. I want to be able to remember everything, and I want them to as well. And so I suppose that is where the writing letters thing comes in. I don't know where this stems from, but I suppose it has something to do with struggling to have kids in the first place and the fertility treatments, etc. I'm just so blessed to have these little boys in my life, and I want to preserve it all!
awe i love this idea. :) i don't have any kids, but i will definitely want to do something like this when i do!
ReplyDeleteLike you do, I always take pictures. But most of the times I forgot to include myself.. lol
ReplyDeleteI always love making notes.. insert it on their diary, lunch box or their school notebooks!
It's just fun being a MOM :)
Honestly, it's tiring but worth it, hugs and kisses and I love you's from my children is heavenly :)
That is such a good idea. Even if you live to be 100, hopefully, it would be such a nice thing for your kids and grandkids to have someday. Your notes and letters and journals will be treasures.
ReplyDeleteI actually bought a journal book after each of the boys was born. I only write in it on their birthdays, like with your sealed letters, but I've thought about writing on other important days. I think Teddy's first day of school will definitely be on there.
ReplyDeleteIt's something I'm really hoping they enjoy. My plan is to give it to them when they each turn 21. And in the scary event that something happens to me, they'll at least have something special from Mommy. (Yeah, I can get a bit morbid sometimes...)
I dont have anything special yet for kiddos but for Dave and I, we are starting a birthday binder to help us remember our birthdays and special things regarding that. It's going to be focused solely on that. We'll collect at least the following: a gas receipt, a pic or two, a little about what we did that day and any fun little inserts we have. :)
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