Letter #27 4/14/21

Stories of A Lifetime Presents: “The Letters”

Community correspondence sparked from the isolating 2020 pandemic focused on easing the burden of loneliness. 

Hello, my name is Holly. I am 41 years old and a single mom of a 10-year-old boy named Easton. His father passed away from cancer three years ago. I enjoy writing, I love history, and I like DIY home projects. I miss my grandma, and I know that if she were alive, she’d be so happy to receive a letter. It wouldn’t matter if the writing was profound or merely about what I ate for dinner, it would make her smile. So, my friend, I’d like to write some letters to you. It will help me feel useful and less lonely, and I hope the letters help you and that they spark you to reminisce about your own life, love, and good times.

April 14th, 2021

Dear Friend,

Oh, my friend, another Easter has come and gone. Did the Easter Bunny find you? I didn’t get anything from the bunny, but my son and our dogs did. They had a great time! I’m thankful that my son’s Cub Scout Pack did an Easter egg hunt for all the kids this year. Our favorite Easter egg hunt since my son was 3-years-old only included kids up to 8-years-old. It was so sad two years ago when it was his last Easter egg hunt there. We enjoyed it so much over the years and had lots of great memories there. It was fun to see him at age ten still be excited to run around and find eggs!

I will always remember his first Easter egg hunt (besides at our house) at age three. We went to the park. We were so excited. There were three different large sections of grass separated for various age groups. We waited by the three and under section until the bunny said we could go. Then, off went my fearless toddler with his turtle-shaped basket into the crowd. I stayed back and watched him bound around and enjoy himself. There were a lot of kids and I couldn’t see exactly what he was picking up, but I knew he was filling his basket. Soon, he rushed back to me with his turtle basket full and exclaimed, “Look, Momma! I got all the red ones!”

My friend, it was so funny! I happily hugged him and congratulated him, but I was a bit baffled. Red wasn’t necessarily his favorite color. He hadn’t talked about wanting red eggs. All the other children grabbed whatever they could get their hands on, but my son bounced around purposefully selecting only the red eggs. It still makes me smile and wonder. His enthusiasm for having a basket full of red plastic eggs was priceless, and I treasure that memory. And I still ask him every year why he did that. Haha!

Do you have any fun Easter egg hunt stories? Did you ever hide real hard-boiled eggs? We used to do that when I was little. One year we didn’t find the last one until it started to smell. Oops.

The weather has been getting nicer and it makes all the difference for improving people’s moods and levels of motivation. Yard work is starting to get done, and that makes me happy. There is still a lot to accomplish at this once neglected property to transform it into the cute home that I envisioned. Did you ever tend a garden? Creating a beautiful and bountiful garden is on my to-do list. I’d appreciate any suggestions on what to grow and advice on how to maintain it. It’s time to let the puppies out now.

With love,

Holly

If you’d like to write back to me, you are very welcome to.

I will get a PO Box soon and let you know what that is. For now, maybe someone could help you scan and email your letters back to me at Holly@StoriesofALifetimeLLC.com. Otherwise, maybe you’ll find it helpful to just journal your thoughts and write them down without sending them. You do what is helpful to you, friend.

Conversation Starters:

Did the Easter Bunny find you? Do you have any fun Easter egg hunt stories? Did you ever hide real hard-boiled eggs? Did you ever tend a garden? What advice do you have on what to grow and how to maintain it?