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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Grandparent(s) (04/03/08)
Dear Son,

We got the invitation today for your graduation next month and I just had to send you a note to tell you again how proud we are of you! I bought a Memories Journal last week and started entering in your Dad’s and my memories from our childhood. Someday I look forward to giving it to you when you get married and have children of your own, not that we’re rushing you!

I’m sure when you read it you’ll see exactly which side of the family your likes and dislikes, and your personality, have come from! I just wrote about your great-grandparents yesterday. I’m not sure I ever told you much about Grandma and Pappy. They had both passed away when I was in college. They lived in a little white farmhouse just a mile from town and I loved going there. Pappy would play checkers with me and Grandma would take my sister and me into the pantry and we’d make kid-sized apple pies from the small tins she had on the shelf. I remember Grandma always trying to feed us too. Your Grandma said it was probably because she was always cooking for the farmhands who would come and help with the harvesting every year, and she always seemed to have a houseful of people. She had even moved her mother-in-law into the home when she was elderly and took care of her for many years. They were both such sweet spirits and I never heard either of them raise their voice or show impatience with us grandkids, even when we went gallivanting through the house and made messes in the kitchen. I remember many happy hours in the creek near the house digging for “treasures” and then running back to the house with the old glass bottles to rinse them in the kitchen sink. We probably made messes in the closets too, because your Aunt and I would go through Grandma’s old closets upstairs and come downstairs to model the old hats she had kept hidden back on the shelves.

Grandma only lived about a year after Pappy had died and by then her hearing had gone, as well as her memory. When we visited her in the nursing home I remember her sweet spirit still shining through and she always had a smile for us. Your Grandpa would bring old photo albums because she still remembered friends and family from her youth and would point to the pictures and tell us who they were. And your grandpa never forgot to bring her favorite candy each visit. She would hold out the box of Andes Mints to each of us first before taking one herself, continuing that tradition of making sure everyone was fed! She remained so selfless through her whole life, and even when her memory had gone and her health faded, her sweet spirit only shined brighter to me.

Here I am rambling and I’m sure you’re busy studying for finals! I just wanted to share my memories of Grandma with you today because she reminds me so much of you. She left a beautiful legacy of love and gentleness for us and I see you have inherited both Grandma and Pappy’s kind and gentle spirits. And you may be sick of hearing this, but I’m very proud of the man you have become! You stood so tall through your teen years, wearing your purity ring with pride and never going along with the crowd. And now look at you! Your dream of becoming an architect is almost here. Remember how you talked about it since third grade? Continue to stand strong in your faith, son. Your great-grandparent left us a beautiful legacy of kindness and love. And someday, it will carry on to your children and grandchildren!

We love you and can’t wait till next month!

All my love, Mom
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This article has been read 1421 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Holly Westefeld
04/10/08
This was an enjoyable and effective way to share this legacy.
Joshua Janoski
04/11/08
I enjoyed how you used a letter to tell your story. Very effective.

I appreciate you sharing this. I really liked it. Keep up the good writing. :)
Tessy Fuller
04/11/08
I also liked how you made this into a letter and journaled it. Nice touch. It made it more intimate that way.
Dee Yoder
04/12/08
It's nice to share memories with our children of their grandparents and those they may not have had the chance to know. Family history is so important to knowing who we are. Thanks for sharing this.