Even though nobody asked, I am going to tell you why I kept old letters.  I don’t know exactly why, except somehow I knew I would like to read them again someday, perhaps after many years.

So after moving and packing up things from the many years I had been an avid letter-writer, I discovered them again after storing them the last 34 years without opening the bins they had inhabited.  I didn’t realize just how many I had kept until I began to go through cards and programs, and other things I had kept.  I could discard some of those things, but not the letters.

Since then, I have only read a few, but what a wonderful experience it has been, each time I’ve opened one of those envelopes.  Every piece of mail is a window into the past, with events and feelings, and relationships I had so many years ago.  Some of the writers have passed away now, making each letter even more precious.  To have something tangible in my hand that was touched by that person and written by them, with all their thoughts and feelings encased in an envelope is a priceless treasure.  It’s my personal time capsule that was buried with other special treasures from the people I love and have loved in the past.

These treasures are windows into my relationships and the events of my life.  We think we have forgotten many of the things that happened with different friends and family over the years.  But many of those memories can just be asleep. And they can be awakened just by opening the envelope and reading an old letter saved for just that moment.

I have never been sorry that I kept them.  It was worth all the packing and moving them around and storing them over the years.  They are a part of my legacy, and I am so grateful.