Day 31. Our LAST DAY of our 31 Letters Literacy Project!
Can you believe that March is marching out? Hopefully, you were able to capture a topic each day and write a letter to your children, grandchildren or special children in your life. The good news is that you can do this any time.
1 letter. 5 letters. 20 letters. 31 letters. Any letter in the mail is a great surprise and a wonderful way to get kids reading. Children are fascinated with what it was like when you were little. Let them read all about YOU… your legacy. Even the ordinary “Moments” are extraordinary!
———————————-
Here is my Letter 31 to my grandchildren:
March 31, 2011
Hi, my little darlings!
Today is Day 31 of our 31 Letters! One whole month has passed before our very eyes… a month of many, many, many MOMENTS.
My great wish for you is that you embrace each MOMENT in your life as a great gift… the fun, exciting moments… and the very ordinary moments, too. Ordinary moments are things like your face in a warm wind, a baby giggling, a teapot singing, the sound of a pencil on paper, a church bell ringing, a waving flag, hot chocolate, a new bud in spring, a good-night hug, walking on the beach, a sunset, an ice cream cone, hanging tinsel on a Christmas tree, or a letter in the mail.
Our lives are made up MOMENTS. They bump into each other from the moment we’re born. We tend to look forward to the BIG moments… like birthdays, holidays, vacations… but most of our MOMENTS are extraordinary “ordinary” moments.
Writing my 31 Letters to you were the most wonderful moments of all for me. They made me think of all the wonderful moments of my life… and to remember how important and how beautiful my MOMENTS are with each of you. MOMENTS like getting a lovely velvet flower, gathering a “Rosa Parks” costume, mashing mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving, seeing a basketball swish into a net, setting up a “carnival” in the living room, going to Newport Creamery, eating little baby tomatoes, pouring Frosted Flakes, soft little kisses.
I told you that I found a box of “things” in my attic. In that box were lots and lots of photographs. These tell of MOMENTS in my life. I hope you enjoy them.
Can you believe that I found a photograph of my Mom, my brother Billy and ME at a U.S. Post Office? I have been going to Post Offices every day to mail my 31 Letters! My Mom says this one was in Michigan. I wonder if it’s still there? The photo was taken in 1952!
This photo is my grandparents’ farm in Michigan. This was the side yard, next to the door that entered the kitchen. The big barn was right across the gravel drive to the left. I am sitting right in front… in shoes, socks and a diaper! My Mom is to my left. My cousin Darlene is next to me and her parents are behind us.
This photo is my first birthday! My Mom and Dad are with me, and my Dad is holding my brother Billy. Of course I don’t remember this moment, but it sure looks like I was having fun! I might even be holding one candle…
This photo is my Aunt Jean (my Mom’s sister), my cousin Debbie on her lap and Billy and me. We are sitting on my Nana’s front steps. My Mom and her brothers and sisters grew up in that house and my Uncle Bob still lives there! I went up those steep steps many, many, many times in my life… and had many cherished moments in that house…
This is my cousin Debbie (right) and me at my Nana’s house. I think it was Easter and we were all dressed up for dinner at Nana’s. Our Moms dressed us kind-of alike! I love Debbie with my all my heart to this very day. I wish I knew who was making us laugh at that moment!
Remember the letter about the reindeer!? Well, this photo was taken years earlier than that little adventure! No wonder I was so frightened of the reindeer. Look at me clinging to my Mom as she feeds that colossal animal! I guess that was a MOMENT I stored somewhere in my memory…
My Mom always made our birthday cakes… awesome ones! (Actually, my Dad also loved decorating cakes. I still have his cake decorating set. We must use it some day soon!) My Mom used to write the year in icing on the side of the cake… so we would always know how old we were. Genius! I was 11, and I guess I got a new watch!
Wow! Color photos! Isn’t it amazing that we thought color photos were the greatest invention ever? This is one Christmas in California… me, my Mom and my brother Dennis. Notice the tinsel on the tree? My Dad loved perfect strands of tinsel. We used to tease him about it… but now tinsel on a Christmas tree is a wonderful, wonderful memory for me. Isn’t my Mom beautiful!?
Jump ahead to a Christmas Eve in New Hampshire… and back to black and white! What? I am in the center, in my pajamas, hugging my dog Chippy. Chippy loved Christmas trees… knocking them over, that is! Ha! Those were fun moments… trying to get it back upright before my Mom and Dad came into the room! I was probably 11 in this photo…
I sewed most all of my own clothing when I was a teenager. This is my Junior Prom dress. I made it myself! It was white with yellow daisies embroidered into the fabric. Check out the white gloves and hair-do with the yellow bow! What was I thinking? Well, gigantic French curls were the rage. I’m with my Dad in the photo. No, I did not go to the prom with my Dad!
AND… I found a photo of the Rose of Sharon! Planting beautiful things are always precious moments to me! They give us gifts of lovely blooms and memories year after year after year…
Remember that MOMENTS make our lives… each and every moment. Celebrate the BIG ones and CHERISH the ordinary ones.
Ask your Mom and Dad about MOMENTS in their lives that changed everything. Moments can do that, you know. Ask them to tell you the story when they first met… first saw each other. That MOMENT is the reason you are here, reading these 31 Letters!
Yes, ordinary moments are the most magical ones. Trust me… and thank you for sharing my MOMENTS with me in our 31 Letters Project!
Love forever and ever,
Grandma Couto
————————————–
Mail Tidbit of the Day: I will be sending more letters… maybe not 31 Letters in a row… but letters just the same. I think I may have a thing for Post Offices!
