Letters From My Mom
August 21, 2012 * * * * * Posted by: Carola 
Recently I went through the letters that my mom wrote to me while I was away at school. My mom and I were very close, even though I have to admit that I sometimes treated her horribly during my teenage years. But you couldn't tell from those letters. She wrote about the good times she remembered before I left for school and how much she missed me. I could almost hear her voice while going through these letters. Each of her letters starts with a beautiful greeting and her special name that she had just for me.
There are many more letters that I received from my mom over the years, but these ones touched me in a very special way. In simple words she mentioned what we had done together, our little quirky gestures and sayings that only both of us understood and were like a secret bond between us. I had almost forgotten some of these and it was heartwarming to be reminded of them again.
My mom passed away five years ago. There aren't many letters left from the last 15 years of her life because we had talked more on the phone. After my daughter was born I had no time for writing letters. Instead I made sure that my little girl and her grandparents saw each other as often as possible. That became very difficult when we moved to the States and always involved long, exhausting flights with ridiculously long waits in airports.
I feel so blessed to have these letters that were written as a loving mom to her youngest daughter. Eventually they will be passed along to my daughter when she will be grown up and can understand the treasure of these written words. Handwritten letters to and from loved ones are so powerful and even more treasured in our computerized age.
I think I go and write a letter to my favorite girl.
Reader Comments (19)
How touching and how beautiful to be able to go back and read those words from your mom, Carola.
Hand-written words from a loved one have the softness of a gentle touch on one's heart. You are blessed to have those treasures with you. And your daughter reading about your relationship with your mom through those letters. will share the love you had for each other.
What a beautiful legacy :-)
What a beautiful gift to have and to hold....something you'll cherish forever.
And - yes - it's so true that letter-writing has become one of those forgotten arts in this instant-messaging digital world. Your post is inspiring me to write - long hand...on paper - in a way that will be preserved and remembered. Love your image - it really says it all!
I'm staring at that wonderful pen, Carola, and now have itchy fingers. I bet most of us remember those letter-writing days of yore! OMG! I could sink a ship with all the ones I wrote...and received. Many from Mom and Dad both were ones I kept. I went through them all before moving across The Pond.
One day your daughter will cherish what you have kept from your own mom...as well as what she has kept from YOU! Thank you for this precious walk down Memory Lane.
So beautiful to not only have those happy memories, but to have the letters to cherish and pass forward. Beautiful image, more beautiful sentiment.
carola, i loved this post....for every possible reason.
my mother bought an antique "letter box" about 40 years ago and filled it with letters from her children and grandchildren. my oldest sister took it when she died and added one or two letters to the collection. she gave me the box a week before she died, and i have put my son's wedding invitation into it and one or two other meaningful notes.
i love the hand-written note, and i enjoyed reading your post about how happy you are to have your mother's.
lovely photo as well....off to write a letter!
Beautiful, Carola ~ and not only will you be passing these special letters on to your daughter but also the knowledge of how important it is to keep this going in her own life, I'm sure you will have many more love notes to add to the ones from your mom.
What a treasure you have here, Carola! Not only the letters, but the memory of a loving relationship. And I don't know how you made this image so that the letters are blurred in the background, but I love the look and feel of it.
Beautiful post. I lost Mom 18 years ago and it still seems so raw. It's the little things I miss, especially around my birthday and hers. She would write little "I love you" notes on a napkin under my tea cup. I never saved those and I really regret it now. I DID save my tea cup that she always had ready for me and it holds a special place of honor in my curio cabinet.
What a touching story. I fear the written word delivered by post if almost a lost art. I'm so glad that you have these loving remembrances of your mother. Thank you for sharing the story and the lovely photograph.
What a wonderful gift. I have never been a good letter writer (with a pen) since my thoughts move faster than my pen and my handwriting is atrocious. I realize, tho, that computerized letters are never the same. I hope you do write a letter to your daughter. Even if she doesn't treasure it now, she will. Love your image.
What a lovely post. I love a handwritten letter - writing one and receiving. What a treasure for you. In fact, you've made me want to go write my children right now.
Sadly I don't have any letters from my mother, but I do treasure her recipe cards and a couple of written 'essays' she wrote. Just looking at her handwriting...well, I think you understand.
A certain treasure, your letters, and a touching post.
i love this and so much of it rings true in my own relationship with my mother. she died when i was 16 and i too was a rather troublesome child. we were very close, she was my best friend and in so many ways i am so like her. i still have all her letters to me, and books that she loved, pictures...things like that. i've carried them all half-way around the world, but would never be without them.
Such a beautiful post Carola! One of my favorite genres of books are those that contain letters or journals/diaries and/or correspondences of loved ones. It is such an intimate way to get to know someone. How beautiful that you shared this with your Mother.
It's true that hand written letters bring much more warmth and a feeling of being important to someone than an email or facebook comment can ever manage. I'm glad you have such a treasure.
How lovely to still have those letters after all this time, bringing back so many happy memories.
Yes, what I gift to have these words written in your mother's hand. I love a handwritten letter, and it is sad that this has become such a lost art. This makes me want to sit down and write each of my children a letter, for no reason other than to tell them that I love them. Thank you.
So touching and a post that I can so relate to! Your photo has given me the inspiration to do something similar for some of the items and letters from my grandmother so thank you!!!