It seems inevitable that some letters will inspire who I will write to next over the course of this project. Jeri's letter inspired me to write to one of the kids I've taken to.
Montana is the daughter of one of our old babysitters. When I was about 6, her mom would spend hours reading to use, playing with us and speaking French with us (we were in French Immersion). By the time Montana was born, geography had separated our families so it wasn't until she was about ten that we finally got to meet.
Turns out Montana is a lot like me at her age (just a bit more introverted) and an avid reader. I decided to take a page from Jeri's book (pun not entirely intended) and send her some of the books I had loved so much at that age. Now we exchange letters a few times a year, and I was thrilled to have her and her family attend my wedding last year. The letter I wrote allowed me to think about what a cool kid she is. Having known her mom so long and getting so see what a great daughter she ended up with... it makes me imagine what my kids might be like someday (for those of you wanting to read into that, no we are not working on parenthood quite yet!) I hope I'm lucky enough to end up with a kid like Montana... and I look forward to continuing to grow my relationship with her!
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Friday, January 14, 2011
Letter #10 - Jeri
This afternoon I finished writing a letter to a woman who has been a part of my life since I was four years old. Jeri's husband was a classmate of my fathers' when he was completing his Masters' of Religion degree.
Jeri is a smart, funny, clever lady with a sharp wit and a great smile. She's always embodied the "cool aunt" stereotype for me. When my family moved to the Netherlands, I was entering the oh-so-delicate pre-teen years (I have since decided that it's the pre-teens who are the real terrors... full blown teens are already beginning to mellow...) To this day, I do not know what inspired her to do so, but Jeri took me under her wing. She knew that I liked to read, and so she would send me books she would find at this amazing used bookstore in her town. While I became fluent in Dutch by the end of our time there, I still read mostly English books. Books in general were pretty expensive over there, and English books were even pricier - when you could find a store that carried them! Jeri had a knack for sending the exact kinds of books I would love, and I spent hours losing myself in the stories.
I know I sent her thank you notes at the time, but they were strictly for the books. Today, I got to thank her for what was behind the books. Jeri was a role model for me, even if I didn't get it at the time. In my letter, I got to tell her how I've recently been able to pay her kindness forward to some pre-teens in my life. I hope that my influence on them can be every bit as positive as Jeri's was on me.
Jeri is a smart, funny, clever lady with a sharp wit and a great smile. She's always embodied the "cool aunt" stereotype for me. When my family moved to the Netherlands, I was entering the oh-so-delicate pre-teen years (I have since decided that it's the pre-teens who are the real terrors... full blown teens are already beginning to mellow...) To this day, I do not know what inspired her to do so, but Jeri took me under her wing. She knew that I liked to read, and so she would send me books she would find at this amazing used bookstore in her town. While I became fluent in Dutch by the end of our time there, I still read mostly English books. Books in general were pretty expensive over there, and English books were even pricier - when you could find a store that carried them! Jeri had a knack for sending the exact kinds of books I would love, and I spent hours losing myself in the stories.
I know I sent her thank you notes at the time, but they were strictly for the books. Today, I got to thank her for what was behind the books. Jeri was a role model for me, even if I didn't get it at the time. In my letter, I got to tell her how I've recently been able to pay her kindness forward to some pre-teens in my life. I hope that my influence on them can be every bit as positive as Jeri's was on me.
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