Back in time

I received a letter yesterday from my cousin who lives on the other side of the U.S.

Actually, it's a copy.

It's handwritten.

It's 8 pages long.

8 pages, and both sides are covered with ink.

Who writes letters that are 16 pages long?

My Aunt Mary was the author of this piece of work and she wrote it to her brother, who turned out to be my Dad.

It was written on January 4th, 1945. How cool is that?

Aunt Mary wrote this letter while she was in Lexington, Mass. and she sent it to my Dad who was stationed in Hawaii during this time of the war.

The letter is an in depth detailed look at the family Christmas of 1944.

She left no stone un-turned.

She detailed who came and went, what they were wearing and what kind of mood they were in, who decorated the tree and what my Grandmother ( who I never met) was eating.

Because of her words, I could picture the excitement of Christmas morning 1944, with my Aunts and Uncles, the gifts under the tree and the exhaustion that so often comes with preparing for this special day. Some things never change.

She signs off by writing, "Love to you from one who prays for your safe return and hopes, next year, you will be here to hang the bells yourself."

Aunt Mary had a way with words.