In class, we were asked to take an item from one of our lists of the 10 things we love and hate, or a title in our life and free write. Below is my free write:
It was a cool fall day, and the back door was open. I was sitting at our family computer in the living room. My best friend at the time Madison sat right next to me in one of our big wooden chairs. We browsed the internet, checked Facebook, and took those silly quizzes that were popular when we were in 8th grade. My mom walked out of her room in tears. She looked at me and said that she was looking through my mom-mom's things and found envelopes that had my name, my sisters name, and my grandfathers name. She opened them thinking there were going to have photos in them, but to her surprise it was hand written letters. My grandmother had passed 3 years prior to ovarian/cervical cancer, she was first diagnosed the year before and that is when she had written them. She handed me the envelope and I just looked at it. That was the first time I had seen her handwriting in 3 years and it felt so surreal. I opened the envelope and took the letter out. I unfolded the letter and saw the swirling lines of her cursive. She had placed a wallet sized school picture of me in there. I began to read her letter and as I read it I could feel the ache in my heart. I immediately started crying. I missed her, a lot. But then the aching started to fade, and I realized that this is what I needed. This letter felt like closure, that little void felt filled. That closure was necessary for me because I hadn't gotten to say my goodbyes to her before she passed. Those last words I will forever cherish and hold very close to my heart.
It was a cool fall day, and the back door was open. I was sitting at our family computer in the living room. My best friend at the time Madison sat right next to me in one of our big wooden chairs. We browsed the internet, checked Facebook, and took those silly quizzes that were popular when we were in 8th grade. My mom walked out of her room in tears. She looked at me and said that she was looking through my mom-mom's things and found envelopes that had my name, my sisters name, and my grandfathers name. She opened them thinking there were going to have photos in them, but to her surprise it was hand written letters. My grandmother had passed 3 years prior to ovarian/cervical cancer, she was first diagnosed the year before and that is when she had written them. She handed me the envelope and I just looked at it. That was the first time I had seen her handwriting in 3 years and it felt so surreal. I opened the envelope and took the letter out. I unfolded the letter and saw the swirling lines of her cursive. She had placed a wallet sized school picture of me in there. I began to read her letter and as I read it I could feel the ache in my heart. I immediately started crying. I missed her, a lot. But then the aching started to fade, and I realized that this is what I needed. This letter felt like closure, that little void felt filled. That closure was necessary for me because I hadn't gotten to say my goodbyes to her before she passed. Those last words I will forever cherish and hold very close to my heart.