Mail Call

I hope that my "papers" are never put into a public "collection" - like the ones they have for presidents.

I just sent off my last letter to Nathan. I have written over 100 letters and about 100 emails to him over the last 2 years. If you do the math (let's see: 100 + 100= 200) that's a lot of correspondence. I'm pretty amazed at myself. That doesn't include packages - probably at least a dozen of those.

I have never been much of a letter writer. Grandma Hanna (Hellen) wrote to me faithfully while I was at college and later on when I was married. She would write almost every week. I would dash off a letter maybe every two or three weeks. Sometimes longer. Sometimes much longer. Grandma's letters were always full to the brim with activity. She would chronicle her week something like this (these are actual excerpts from her letters):

"...The few nice days I cleaned the yard and wrapped the pipes and getting ready for winter. I made pies for the dinner then Friday some of us went to a dinner at the Roseburg Chapel....Monday we had a Ward Turkey dinner I made 10 pounds of mashed potatoes. Tuesday I made 5 banana bread loaves to serve at Homemaking....Wednesday I made 4 jello salads, tended 3 little children for 1 1/2 hours then made 12 pies..." November 1984

"...I wonder sometimes why or how come I am so busy but I do visit from 17 to 21 or 22 Sisters and some more than once that are lonely or ill. I received a phone call from a Sister who wanted to hire me to go into her home and help tend older people as she is starting a Foster care home. I said "no" but have gone over 5 or 6 times to watch them (and I am older than them) while she takes one to the Doctor or has to shop or go to the Bank so I did take a little money because she wants to be business like...." January 1988

I hope Grandma would be proud of me. I may not come up to her standard of work, but I have managed to overcome my lackadaisical writing habits and I have become a somewhat responsible sender of letters...now if I could just do better about my visiting teaching...