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Read an excerpt from Margret Bazany and Lisa Lee's new book
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Loving Legacy Letters: Writing Gifts To Your Friends & Family
LOVING LEGACY LETTERS: WRITING GIFTS TO YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY
During the Christmas season of 2004, I was searching for a way to make my gift giving more meaningful those that I love and me. I stumbled upon the idea to write a letter to my three children articulating my love for them. I started by placing a large heart in the middle of a blank piece of paper. I created a personal web of information about each child, including: finest qualities, experiences we had shared together, special memories I had of each of their childhoods.. Flipping the paper to the backside, I listed out my hopes and dreams for their future. I wanted to communicate my personal “blessings” to them.
I was careful to stay focused on my task, releasing the old messages of correct spelling, punctuation and sentence structure. This is a gift, not an assignment. I kept writing and noticed how emotional I felt when I looked at my heart shape and noticed they were filling with personal family history. I started to connect with each of them through this simple exercise. There were times I found tears streaming down my face, laughing and remembering the silly times we shared.
After I completed the web of information around the heart, and I had articulated my hopes and wishes for their bright future, it was time to write out the letter. The writing process seemed easier, my words flowed, and I had the references from my information- gathering page to keep the creative process moving. I started each letter by describing what I believe are my children’s best qualities. I added a few remembrances that I had from their childhood and current experiences. I ended with delineating my wishes for their future. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to get to the core of who I believed they are and then to get that down on paper. As a Christmas gift, I added a dollar for each year of their lives.
On Christmas Day I was expectant and excited about seeing and hearing their feedback related to these gift letters. I was amazed at how piercingly they experienced this form of communication. My son had tears streaming down his face, and in between the emotion I watched him laugh at some of the humor included in the letter. It was a fulfilling Christmas experience, and one I have continued each Christmas since then.
I was surprised and delighted the following Christmas when my son wrote a letter to his grandmother and then had the privilege of watching them share that tender moment when she opened her letter, and he witnessed the tears of joy she shed.
Writing gift letters is now a family ritual at Christmas and has spread to birthdays and other special occasions. It is a unique and genuine way to connect deeply with those you love, and it is the type of communication that pays forward wonderful dividends.
So writes Lisa Lee, the creative genius who came up with the idea of “writing gifts” to her family in 2004. Then, in 2005, she said to her friend, Margret Bazany, “I want to write a book, but I don’t know how to go about it.” Margret responded from 25 years of teaching English, “I do.”
Thus the brainstorm for a book to teach others how to write letters, quickly, simply and enjoyably has become a reality. The co-authors put their heads together and have created a book they call LOVING LEGACY LETTERS: WRITING GIFTS TO YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY. This book takes the reader/letter writer through a few easy steps, disregarding grammar, spelling, word order and other formalities, and within an hour or so, he or she has a letter ready to go out to a friend or family member.
The cost of this letter is very low: any available paper will do, plus an envelope and a 39 cent stamp.
The activity is also fun, and the reader can be as creative as he/she desires, adding drawings, stickers or any other decorations available.
Lisa and Margret have guided many people in this process during their workshops with wonderful results. The attendees were amazed at the short time the letter took to write and at the amount of emotion evoked. They laughed, they cried, they got in touch with feelings long ago forgotten.
Those who sent the letters report such results as:
“I started out writing a few paragraphs to my granddaughter for her college graduation, and it turned into 10 pages!”
“My friend said that she had never received anything like this. She feels so special.”
“I sent the letter to a friend I hadn’t seen in years, and she called me the next day. We were able to reconnect.”
“My sister wrote back immediately, using the same format I had used. I feel so much closer to her now.”
“I sent the letter to my Grandma, and she said it was the best Christmas gift ever.”
“I was able to say things to my wife in writing that I can’t say out loud.”
These letters are treasures that contain the loving intentions of their authors. And those loving intentions are communicated to the receiver through the words. (We recommend handwriting the letters.)
LOVING LEGACY LETTERS will be coming out by the end of 2007 by Margret Bazany and Lisa Lee.
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