I’ve been lost—I’m still lost—in a box I brought down from the attic, packed tight with letters postmarked in the 70’s and 80’s. My first thought was to remove the stiff broken rubber bands that bundled them roughly into clumps by date or sender and dump them in the recycle.
What a charming and interesting piece, Meg. Thanks for writing and posting it! I've got a few letters from our college years, but not that many. And now I really wish I'd saved more of them. Best Wishes.
Meg, your work is profound. You’ve captured that human element of communicating so familiar to those of us “of an age”. I have a similar set of letters I sometimes stumble upon; but have not been brave enough to recycle…weed a bit. That’s all.
thanks once again Meg for your perceptive thoughts!
my mom’s mom who only spoke very broken English throughout her life wrote several letters concerning her two sons who were in Europe during world war II. they were in very unbroken English and provided insight that I did not have as her young grandson into who she was as a person, as well as into the times of that war (which she referred to as ‘this thing’ — ‘when this thing is over’) which I could only imagine. I read those letters and was touched by the revelations of the depths of my grandmother who I only knew as a warm and simple loving person until then.
That's fabulous -- to have gained such insights from her letters. What was her native language? lovely that she was warm, simple, loving, and thoughtfully deep!
I have my dad’s really large desk from his office in Chicago in our living room. Recently I decided to clean out a few drawers. One was filled w old cards from decades ago. I sat down and read and relished the memories and then put them all in recycle. It was wonderful to reread the notes and also totally liberating to let them all go!
Wow! Amazing that you cleaned it out so recently! But I feel vindicated that you let them go after reading—I keep wondering if I’ll regret my throw-away furor.
One of the letters I appreciated & then let go was from you, sometime in the early 80s. We were experiencing similar turmoil in our lives & your letter was very comforting!
her native tongue was Sicilian (not Italian!!) and she constantly told me to ‘manga’ because I was so skinny while putting heaping plates of pasta with homemade sauce in front of me which I obediently and joyfully consumed until I felt I would burst, yet I remained an overfed beanpole.
This was a wonderful piece. I have two drawers (pulled out from old desks) mostly full of old letters. I was able to sort and save and discard the letters in one of them. But, turns out the 2nd one was mostly from old "boy friends." (Or young men who came through my life in my late teens and twenties who I started a correspondence with.) Some were people who stayed in my life over time. (Two of them I even lived with) but most were men I met at summer camps, dance camps, over my 3-month stay in NYC, on my one solo trip to Europe, etc.
It's embarrassing to say that some I have absolutely no recollection of, but could I throw those out? No, (maybe on a second reading I'll remember them? ) I guess for my now previous-soccer mom, now retired singleton self, ( who's feeling older by the minute) remembering my days of happy-go-lucky dating and connecting with the male species is still precious to me!
Yes, you touched a chord here, several chords really, wending humor with the ache of memory and loss. You made me remember that we used to make calls when the rates went down! Thank you for reminding me why we write and why we evoke the past, even as we let it go.
What a charming and interesting piece, Meg. Thanks for writing and posting it! I've got a few letters from our college years, but not that many. And now I really wish I'd saved more of them. Best Wishes.
Thanks for reading, Todd! Now that I've written about it, I may find myself keeping more! My kids can always throw them out!
You filled a memory hole for me. I'd forgotten that we both worked for Mrs. Eide.
I had too! But I'm so grateful to see a picture of her again. Thank you! What a beautiful person!
Beautiful memory recover. We also have a good selection of old letters and postcards. It really helps to fill in memory holes.
Doesn't it though? Amazing what falls by the wayside unless documented!
Meg, your work is profound. You’ve captured that human element of communicating so familiar to those of us “of an age”. I have a similar set of letters I sometimes stumble upon; but have not been brave enough to recycle…weed a bit. That’s all.
And then there are our letters to lovers (then/spouses. Sweet memories indeed!
Yes... sweet are the ones to whom you're still married, I say with a wry grin.
Loved your post, Meg!
Having the quiet tiime, at last, to sort the "unsorted life" is a writer's gift to herself.
Keep 'em coming!
Thanks for reading and, as always, putting it in excellent perspective!
thanks once again Meg for your perceptive thoughts!
my mom’s mom who only spoke very broken English throughout her life wrote several letters concerning her two sons who were in Europe during world war II. they were in very unbroken English and provided insight that I did not have as her young grandson into who she was as a person, as well as into the times of that war (which she referred to as ‘this thing’ — ‘when this thing is over’) which I could only imagine. I read those letters and was touched by the revelations of the depths of my grandmother who I only knew as a warm and simple loving person until then.
That's fabulous -- to have gained such insights from her letters. What was her native language? lovely that she was warm, simple, loving, and thoughtfully deep!
Thanks for reading and sharing!
I have my dad’s really large desk from his office in Chicago in our living room. Recently I decided to clean out a few drawers. One was filled w old cards from decades ago. I sat down and read and relished the memories and then put them all in recycle. It was wonderful to reread the notes and also totally liberating to let them all go!
Wow! Amazing that you cleaned it out so recently! But I feel vindicated that you let them go after reading—I keep wondering if I’ll regret my throw-away furor.
One of the letters I appreciated & then let go was from you, sometime in the early 80s. We were experiencing similar turmoil in our lives & your letter was very comforting!
This warms my heart!
her native tongue was Sicilian (not Italian!!) and she constantly told me to ‘manga’ because I was so skinny while putting heaping plates of pasta with homemade sauce in front of me which I obediently and joyfully consumed until I felt I would burst, yet I remained an overfed beanpole.
Hello Meg,
This was a wonderful piece. I have two drawers (pulled out from old desks) mostly full of old letters. I was able to sort and save and discard the letters in one of them. But, turns out the 2nd one was mostly from old "boy friends." (Or young men who came through my life in my late teens and twenties who I started a correspondence with.) Some were people who stayed in my life over time. (Two of them I even lived with) but most were men I met at summer camps, dance camps, over my 3-month stay in NYC, on my one solo trip to Europe, etc.
It's embarrassing to say that some I have absolutely no recollection of, but could I throw those out? No, (maybe on a second reading I'll remember them? ) I guess for my now previous-soccer mom, now retired singleton self, ( who's feeling older by the minute) remembering my days of happy-go-lucky dating and connecting with the male species is still precious to me!
Thanks, Meg. Your writing is beautiful and evocative. I'm so fortunate to have access to it and to you.
Yes, you touched a chord here, several chords really, wending humor with the ache of memory and loss. You made me remember that we used to make calls when the rates went down! Thank you for reminding me why we write and why we evoke the past, even as we let it go.