{"id":379555,"date":"2013-06-25T15:14:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-25T15:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2013\/06\/25\/a-day-of-letters\/"},"modified":"2013-06-25T15:14:00","modified_gmt":"2013-06-25T15:14:00","slug":"a-day-of-letters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2013\/06\/25\/a-day-of-letters\/","title":{"rendered":"A Day of Letters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I spent yesterday writing.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Long-hand.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
A belated Father\u2019s Day wish to my dad.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I had phoned him, but the card I\u2019d purchased sat on my desk with the many other seasonal well wishes that would be late.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I\u2019m not one to scrawl my name on someone else\u2019s sentiment and call it a day.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I thoroughly enjoy writing letters and putting my own heartfelt thoughts out there.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I\u2019ve had so many people comment over the years how much my messages mean to them, how much they enjoy them, that I write whenever I can.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
And I\u2019m a firm believer that it is never too late to let someone know you care, never too late to let someone know you appreciate them.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
That\u2019s exactly how I spent the first day of my summer break, spreading kindness and gratitude.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Three notes to the parents of my most-improved students, those children I believed I\u2019d never be able to reach.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
And yet, by some grace we reached an understanding, one that included appropriate language and patience and civility.<\/span><\/div>\n
We had arrived at a place where they actually called me by name as opposed to insulting monikers, and one where they seemed, for the most part, at ease.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
They had earned that little bit of extra attention.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I sent seven notes to parents whose children stood out among the rest for their gracious and courteous actions.<\/span><\/div>\n
They, too, deserved some special recognition.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I not only believe in the power of the positive, I believe that if we spent more time focusing on Good News, we might not only attract a great deal more of it, we might actually create an entirely new movement\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
An anniversary card.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Three correspondences to family and friends whose lives have recently been sidetracked by cancer.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Those are such difficult dialogues to create.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
What do you say to someone whose loved ones are fighting against lung or pancreatic or throat cancer?<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
What do you say to anyone who\u2019s facing Disease or Death or Disaster of any kind?<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I told them I love them.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
And to the sisters who are facing The Big C<\/i> in Mother, Brother, and Husband, these are the only words of compassion I could craft.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
It is such a scary time in our lives when loved ones become ill. When those close to us are hurting, we feel their pain and ours.<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
But the beautiful thing about that vulnerability is the knowledge that we have loved so deeply, that we experienced a level of connection that is both marvelous and miraculous.<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I know it\u2019s not much, but I will keep each of you in my thoughts, and am sending out hugs and healing energy to all.<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
If there is anything I\/We can do to help ease your burden, be it big or small, please don\u2019t hesitate to let us know<\/i>.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
And I hoped that the message would be the right thing for them, and that it would be received at the right time\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Seven graduation cards.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
A letter of congratulations and encouragement to Fave, who was leaving the country for an international competition.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
An e-mail to a childhood friend, someone I haven\u2019t spoken to in years, but one who has been popping into my mind repeatedly these past few weeks.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Love.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Sadness.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Celebration.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
My heartfelt messages pouring out from me and onto the blank page.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
May those words hold meaning, may they bear marks of compassion, inspiration, hope, and admiration\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
My work here is done, for today\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span> <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Soon\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\ufeff<\/div>\n
\ufeff<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I spent yesterday writing. Long-hand. A belated Father\u2019s Day wish to my dad. I had phoned him, but the card I\u2019d purchased sat on my desk with the many other seasonal well wishes that would be late. I\u2019m not one to scrawl my name on someone else\u2019s sentiment and call it a day. I thoroughly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[351,60,811,868,895,113,870,896,54,63,897,898],"class_list":["post-379555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cancer","tag-compassion","tag-death-and-destruction","tag-disaster","tag-disease","tag-family","tag-good-news","tag-heartfelt-messages","tag-loss-and-healing","tag-parenting","tag-student-recognition","tag-writing-letters"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Letters.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}