I have lots of names that I go by…wife, mom, daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, cousin, and friend. I love every one of those names. My newest name has feelings attached to it that I never imagined and can’t explain. Nonna. I chose Nonna because I come from an Italian family and wanted to keep some Italian heritage in our growing family. But I also love hearing grandma so I’ll take that name too!
Stevie is 2 ½ years old and I have already created countless memories with her. When I’m with her I remember how easy it is to forget those daily moments…. From feeding her a bottle to her first words to the hilarious things she says as a two year old. So when she was born I started a journal for her. Dear Stevie. I wrote in it once a week and made sure to document those precious moments, how I was feeling and what I wanted to say to her.
In June of 2022, when she was 11 months old, her family had a water event in their home while they were on vacation. They came home to a destroyed house and immediately moved in with us as they figured things out. A gift in the middle of a disaster. It was an honor to be able to care for my family for those 3 months while they arranged for a rental home until their renovation was complete. But as we know, things don’t always go as planned in the construction business. The rental agreement was completed and their home was not. I have learned to never say never. Just when we thought we would never all live under the same roof…welcome back! They lived with us for another 3 months.
During that time I realized something about my granddaughter. She LOVES to run to the mailbox and get the mail! So I had an idea. I would write those journal entries in a letter to Stevie once a week and mail it. She now has a routine. She goes to the mailbox once a week with her mommy and sits on the porch step while her mommy reads a letter from Nonna. She already has a box full of letters to open one day when she is all grown up and will get to hear the stories of her life.
I share this with you in hopes of giving you an idea for someone that you love. It could be your own child, a parent, a grandparent, or friend. There’s just something about receiving a letter and there’s even something more about writing one.