A Box Of Memories

Yesterday was my 50th birthday! Of all the gifts I received the one I loved the most didn't cost one penny! A big box arrived in the mail yesterday and it was from a friend that I have known since I was 1 year old! Our parents lived in the same apartment complex in Fla and that's how we got to know this dear family. After several years they moved to South Carolina and we moved to Virginia, but fortunately that didn't end our friendship. Most summers we would spend time at each other's homes, swimming, building forts and doing all those other wonderful things that kids do. Our families took many a vacation together and celebrated births as well as sharing grief over lost loved ones. Sharon was one of my bridesmaids (she flew all the way to Virginia even though she was terrified of flying, just to be in my wedding) and I was in her wedding, as well. I think the reason that we stayed so close all those years is because we faithfully wrote letters to each other. Every couple of weeks I would send her one and then I'd get one in return.We first started writing in 1969, which is just shy of 40 years. Stamps were six cents, I think! I wanted to share with you a little portion of the letter she sent me that accompanied the box:

Much to my surprise, she had saved EVERY SINGLE LETTER I HAD EVER WRITTEN!!! I couldn't believe it when I opened the box because there sat over 150 letters!! As you can imagine, the tears started flowing! There were letters starting with 6 cent postage all the way to present day. You could easily see the progression of a child's handwriting to an adults, and my choices of stationery were quite interesting;o) I have spent the better part of the afternoon pouring over these treasures ~ with each word I read a memory is brought back to life! In those letters we poured out our hearts to each other, a lifetime of living. Broken hearts, accomplishments, illnesses, dreams . . . One letter I had written said I WOULD NEVER find the right man for me, little did I know! lol Our love for Donny Osmond was quite obvious but we couldn't agree on who was cuter, Donny or David Cassidy! I talked about my favorite Christmas gift one year which was Mystery Date and when I had my first job I was thrilled with $1.50 cents an hour!

Now you know why this gift was my favorite. Although it didn't cost any money, to me it is simply priceless. So many, many memories brought back to life through pen and paper and all because of the love of a dear friend.