Letter #10: 6/28/20
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 40 years old and a single mom of a 9-year old boy named Easton. His father, Brian, passed away from cancer two years ago. I enjoy writing, I love history, and I like being a helpful, involved community member. I keep thinking about my grandma, and if she were alive today how lonely she would be because of this pandemic. I know receiving a letter would turn her day around. It wouldn’t matter if the writing was profound or merely about what I ate for dinner. Knowing someone cared to communicate would bring instant joy. So, my friend, I’d like to write some letters to you. I know they will help me feel useful and less lonely. I hope these letters are helpful to you and that they spark you to reminisce about your own life, love, and good times.
June 28th, 2020
Dear Friend,
I’ve been loving the weather! It’s sunny and warm and wonderful. These beautiful days have been providing me with many opportunities to work in my yard. I’ve only lived at this property for just over a year. The home and yard had been severely neglected. I’ve been taking it one little section at a time and working my magic on it! I absolutely love the hard work and creativity to then reach the payoff- a beautiful and unique transformation that I made happen!
My dad recently gave me a wheelbarrow he’s no longer using and it’s been one of the best hand-me-downs ever! Haha! I’ve been hauling untold amounts of rock and dirt and bricks and that wheelbarrow has been fantastic. Do you enjoy yard work/landscaping? I love it! I love working hard, pushing myself to near exhaustion, being sweaty and full of dirt, and then stepping back and looking at how much I made something better. What I like the most is that after the hard work the end result is right there in front of my face. It’s not hypothetical. It’s not pending. It’s not the same as the hard work I put out there for other business-related projects where I “hope” to see a return some day. I definitely appreciate the immediate return on my sweat equity investments. It’s very fulfilling.
Anyway, my son and I are excited for a small return to our pre-pandemic routine. Easton takes Irish Dancing lessons and has so much fun with it. The footwork is tremendously complicated and it’s a great challenge for him. His classes have been cancelled since March when things started to close because of the pandemic. Sadly, the shutdown began St. Patrick’s Day weekend when Irish Dancing performances all over town would’ve been keeping us busy and having a blast. The students have been able to have lessons only virtually on the computer since then. However, the studio just opened up with some new precautions and Easton is thrilled to be dancing again with his teacher and friends. We hope that some of the St. Patrick’s Day performances can be rescheduled at some point so these kiddos can show off their hard work.
Did you ever take dance lessons? Have you ever seen the Riverdance Irish Dancers? I call my son my Baby Lord of The Dance. Maybe some day he’ll be dancing in Ireland. Wouldn’t that be something, my friend? Here’s to hard work, dreams, and possibilities!
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:
Do you enjoy yard work/landscaping? Is there anything that you liked to work really hard at? Did you ever take dance lessons? Have you ever seen the Riverdance Irish Dancers?
