I come from a family of letter writers. Like so many things in the age of technology it has fallen by the wayside and been taken over by Facebook and other media. To this day I love receiving letters, especially at Christmas time.

When it came to letter writing, mother was a star. She had learned beautiful handwriting under the tutelage of Franciscan sisters when she was a child. She taught penmanship to many students in her one-room classrooms for eleven years of teaching prior to her marriage to my dad.

I remember receiving many letters over the years after I left home for college and as I moved around as a young adult teaching in Alabama and small Wisconsin towns. Her letters contained news from home and often some “words of wisdom” about living life. I did not always appreciate those words as a young adult out on my own.

I wish I would have kept more of her letters. I’m sure I have some stored away somewhere in my basement. I believe I would appreciate those words of wisdom more today that she so freely offered over the years.