Family Keepsakes

Today I had lunch with a friend I worked with years ago. It's been many years since we worked together but we still get together every year or so to catch up on each other's lives. She just celebrated her 90th birthday and is an inspiration to me. In the last year or so she ran across a box of letters that she and her late husband had written to each other when they were dating. They lived less than 40 miles apart but at that time letter writing was the best way to stay connected. Since most of the letters were written in pencil and are beginning to fade, she is recording them, at the request of her children and grandchildren, so they will be able to have that part of her history.

This conversation today made me think of the boxes of letters I have that were written by my parents and my husband's parents. They are full of so much family history and insights into life during that time.
I also think that now, with telephone calls, texting and e-mails, we aren't going to have the same kind of written history as we had in the past. There will be many more ways to record our lives but most likely letters won't be one of them.