A Love Letter Resurfaces

I spent the evening with my dear grandparents flipping through old photo albums and came across this gem which I’ve been thinking about since. This letter was written from my great-great uncle to his girlfriend while he was away at war, asking for her ring size. He died tragically in a plane crash and never returned home to marry her. Can you imagine? It sounds like a movie, but it really happened – a fragment of it left as evidence of their story all these years later. This is what I love about life, about what I do – even tonight flipping through well-aged photos and recognizing the task I’ve been given to uncover the gold thread of love in each story.

As I just thought of it I’ll enclose this card with this letter so you can tell me exactly the size of the ring you wear both engagement and wedding. Please make an X at the side of the hole which represents the proper size of ring and write the word wedding on the side of one, and engagement on the side of the other

Three weeks from today is when my case comes off

Cordia dear please write me a long letter expressing your ideas and intention in every way concerning the future occassion if you please mam

We listened to my grandma recall names and history to the point she remembers and then the rest was lost. Photos were only strange faces and I realized that in one generation, all of it would be gone forever. No one would remember the stories behind these photos – except for this letter. Once you’ve known me, you’ll eventually find how greatly I adore letters. And this is why. Because texts are lost and spoken words dissipate, but letters linger for years. They resurface at just the right moments to remind us of love that once was. They memorialize our hearts if we let them. This is the legacy I want to leave. Love letters sprinkled throughout the world that resurface long after I’m gone.

A thought to consider | Is there someone dear to you coming to mind? Set an intention to slow down and write them a message from your heart. I’m convinced these little acts of love extend much further than we realize to the core of their recipients.