| Friday, June 30, 2006 |
| The Significance of a Love Letter |
I was sitting at the barber shop in the middle of Baghdad waiting for my time to get in the chair and have my hair groomed to meet the military standards. As I was sitting there I noticed a Newsweek magazine with Katie Couric on the front cover. As I was thumbing through it, I came across an article written by William Shaw. I would like to share this article and my thoughts with you.
William Shaw had been married to Marion for a wonderful 46 years. Not one time during their marriage was he ever away from her more than five days with the exception of two 12-day trips to the West Coast. The love that they had for each other is something that we hardly hear about these days. They had nicknames that lasted throughout the years. The laughter that they shared still remained fresh in his mind. He would still play love tunes on the piano that reminds him of the days that he would play while she prepared dinner.
William said, "I have pictures - photos, slides, even a couple of collections of slides on videocassettes. What I don't have, in black or blue on white, are her thoughts." He goes on to say, "There is not much that is more personal than a letter, particularly a love letter. No card, no poem, no gift is as intimate as a letter. I'm sorry now that I never wrote to her, even if it would have been in my nearly indecipherable handwriting. I probably shouldn't feel this way - there never really was a need, and who thinks ahead to what might happen?.......I regret she never had one from me and I wonder if she ever wanted one, or ever missed having a little bit of the real me to hold on to.....Now I wish I had her words to read and reread."
As I read this I thought that maybe I could learn something from this gentleman. I love my wife more than anything on this earth. I don't ever want to do anything to hurt or displease her in any way. She is my most prized possession. I would kill or die for her. I often daydream about what our life will be like 50 years from now. I often imagine us sitting in our front porch swing, watching the grandchildren playing in the front yard. I picture this life that is beyond modern words. Many people will wait a life time to get just one glimpse of this kind of fulfillment, and yet I already have it all.
William Shaw has taught me that you don't want to grow old and regret something that you could prevent. When I die, I want my wife and family to be able to read and reread just how much I loved them and cared for them. Life is too short NOT to take the time and invest in the future. So, stop what you are doing and write your spouse (children) a love letter that will last forever. |
posted by Capt. C @ 10:59 AM  |
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| 4 Comments: |
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great post C. When Jenn and I were cleaning and getting ready for Pam to move in we came across a box full of stuff including letters we had wrote in college. It was great & really funny/chessy at points to read some of the letters that we wrote each other.
We haven't done that in awhile. That's a good idea.
Love ya C.
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I agree, life is so short.
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Something I do that most people find crazy is I keep a diary for each of my kids. I write special things in each one for each child. I never thought to do the same thing for my husband. You've inspired me :) Great post.
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great post C. When Jenn and I were cleaning and getting ready for Pam to move in we came across a box full of stuff including letters we had wrote in college. It was great & really funny/chessy at points to read some of the letters that we wrote each other.
We haven't done that in awhile. That's a good idea.
Love ya C.