The time is getting away from me... we are FAST-approaching Cora's first birthday. It's only 2 weeks away, in fact. In honor of this very important occasion, we would like to invite you to help us celebrate this milestone in a special way. (You may remember this "mission" from back when James was turning 1...)
Since we can’t have all of our family and friends together for Cora's 1st birthday, we are asking you each to contribute a common gift, so that we will feel some unity even while living so far from everyone. We want to put together a collection of letters that Cora can open and read at specific moments in her life. Letters from you: her family, friends, and adoring fans. We think this idea is especially fun considering how some children (not us, of course!) get tired of hearing their parents' advice and might appreciate hearing encouragement from another person that loves them and has their best interest in mind. For example, how great would it be for Cora to hear some funny stories from her Grambot about what a drama queen and non-sleeper her mama when she was a baby, when she's tired of hearing me reminisce about this year of sleep battles with her (and tired of reading about them on the blog)? Or, how special would it be for Cora to read an inspirational letter about lasting love and making marriage work from her great-grandparents (closing in on 60 years of marriage this year!) on the night before her own wedding? The options are endless…
So, your mission, should you chose to accept it (and we hope you will), is to write a letter. It can be one simple sentence, or many pages full of stories and advice. It can contain stories about you, or us, or whoever. It can be silly, or sweet, or informative. It can contain advice of what to do, or what not to do. It can be whatever you would want to say to Cora at that moment, or whatever you wish someone would have said to you.
Please mail us your letter in a sealed envelope (they are for Cora's eyes only, after all) labeled with "Cora, read this when _____". We will give them to her unopened whenever that specific event arrives.
We have listed several events that you can pick from if you don't have a specific event in mind, or you can write about any other event that you think is important. And it doesn't matter if different people write on the same topic. Also, if you'd like to write more than one letter, please do! You can send all you want! (In fact, if you never sent a letter to James and would still like to, PLEASE do! He won't be reading for a while yet anyway, so you have plenty of time to write a letter for his treasure chest.)
The examples follow:"Cora, read this....."
on your first day of kindergarden
on your first day of middle school
on your first day of high school
on your first day of college
before your first date
after your first date
on prom night
before your first day of work
on the day you move out of your parents' house
on the night before your wedding day
when you’re learning how to ride a bike
when you're testing to get your driver's license
when you have a big school project to do
if you've failed an exam
when you win your first award
when your first pet dies
when you lose/break something valuable
when you lose the big game
when you think your parents are being unfair
when your parents are embarrassing you
after you have your first car accident
when you fall in love
when you wonder if God is real
when you lose someone you love
when you don't know what to do with your life
after your first break-up
The details or specifics about what you write aren't important in us. They are all up to you. The important part is that there are several different views from several different people. All of you have had important roles in helping to mold and shape us into the people that we are, and we are so thankful that we were able to learn from your insight. Now, we hope that you will pass that on to our daughter.
Feel free to send us your letters at any time. Happy writing!
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