Brandon’s in the adjoining room, most likely sleeping, and most definitely looking adorable.

I’m in the bathroom writing to you.

And thinking.

Thinking about what Gram said about dreams being worth it.

Thinking about what Brandon said about the pressure he feels to play baseball.

And thinking about what Mom said about missing out on some of her own memories while helping other people cherish and preserve theirs.

And all this thinking has given me a few great ideas.

I think there’s a way this Dear Me Journal, which has meant so much to me on this trip, and hopefully means a lot to you now, could also be a way to mean something for other people too.

I started the summer not wanting Mom to bring my Dear Me Journal into a meeting with her executives, and that hasn’t changed. I still would never want her to do that. But my opinion of how meaningful Dear Me letters can be has changed drastically.

When this summer started, I wondered how I would survive my visit to Florida.

And once I got to Sunny Sandy Shores, I wondered how I would survive the road trip with Gram, Mimi, and Brandon.

And once we’d left on the trip, I wondered how in the world I’d survive the pitfalls that challenged us around every curve and corner.

Turns out the answer to my survival was these letters to you.

I don’t think I could’ve survived this trip without them.

I don’t think I could’ve survived the trip without you.

Mom said she was pretty sure she was finished with Make It, Take It, but that doesn’t mean she has to be finished with her career in preserving memories. Now that I believed in the Dear Me Journal as much as she did, maybe even more, maybe Mom and I could team up. With me as a spokesperson for the product, Mom and I could start our own little business and sell Dear Me Journals online. It wouldn’t be as stressful as working for Make It, Take It, but Mom would still get to keep pursuing her creative dreams, and the two of us could make some memories of our own.

Besides that, I have an idea of my own that we could add to the Dear Me Journal, so that we wouldn’t just have one product to sell online; we’d have two.

Letters to Loved Ones

Record it today, so your loved ones can cherish it tomorrow.

Letters to Loved Ones are a revolutionary way to record vacation memories.

Don’t simply record the stops and scenery along the way.

Don’t just post photos online of everything you do, for everyone to see.

Make it more memorable for the ones you love.

Make it a personal memento better than any souvenir.

A keepsake that lasts forever.

Write Letters to Loved Ones to those you travel with.