I am maintaining my goal to work on temple and family history work for a short time each week. One project this month is to go through old mail and cards that I have kept throughout my life. I am letting go of a lot of it. For scale, I would say I have one banker’s box left, and still plan to say goodbye to much more.
I haven’t been reading every letter, just sorting them by sender. Even without reading, I am amazed at what I learn about my grandmothers as I do this. I thought that I had already gathered their writing, but I have found so much more. Perhaps I am coming to know them better after they are gone, when the sum of their words and kindness are laid bare on the sorting table. I always knew they were good to me, but seeing their words from every stage of my life is an incredible gift.
I visualize my Grandma Ruth standing in the grocery store next to the greeting cards, finding just the words and images she wanted to convey. I picture my Grandma Stewart at her writing desk, penning her brief notes, often ending with “Take care–,” which of course meant, “I love you.” I see them, clearly in my mind, and know they are still with me.