Letters to Loved Ones

A way to do something unforgettable for the loved ones who joined you in creating once-in-a-lifetime memories, you’ll never want to forget.

Doing something like this with Mom meant that I’d be way too busy to waste my time in seventh grade trying out for more stuff that probably wouldn’t end up being my thing and might not even be all that fun anyway.

It was true that standing on that fairground stage soaking up all that praise felt great, but in all honesty, hearing that Gram had had such a good time on the road trip, knowing that I had played some part in making that happen, and having Mom tell me I should feel proud felt even better.

I hope you don’t mind, but on the next several pages of my Dear Me Journal, I’ll be writing a few letters and tearing them out so that I can give them to my traveling companions.

But before I give them to their recipients, when Mom gets to Florida, I’ll show them to her so that she can get excited about Letters to Loved Ones too. That way, when the two of us get back home, we can take the preserving memories world by storm; and while we do, we’ll create some of our own unforgettable memories.

Love,

Me

Dear Mimi,

When I think back to the day I met you, I have to admit, I never would’ve imagined that just a week later, I’d think of you as my friend. But I do. And I’m lucky. Or as I know you would say, I’m “blessed.”

When you called me precious, when I found out about your boxes of Bibles, when I realized we would be going on a road trip together, I won’t lie and say that I was thrilled. Actually, I was filled with overwhelming dread. But now that our trip is almost over, I hope I never forget the memories that, little by little, replaced my apprehension as we overcame all the “trials” (as you call them) that we had to navigate with sweat and mud, tears, and laughter. Hopefully this letter will help you cherish the moments of this trip long after we return to Sunny Sandy Shores, and I hope the trip will always be something you count as a real blessing. I know I always will.

Love,

Sam

P.S. So many things will always make me think of you—things like turtles, hymns like “Marching to Zion,” and definitely plastic tablecloths and vanilla-scented hand sanitizer.

Dear Brandon,

You already know when I heard you were going on this trip that I wasn’t all that happy about it, and you also already know all the pretty jerky things I thought about you before I bothered to get to know you.

But this letter isn’t about any of that.