Your first letter to them
You don't need to be a writer. You need ten minutes, a pen and one true thing.
Before you start
- Write by hand. Your handwriting is part of the letter.
- Put the date and their age at the top. Years from now, it's the first thing they'll look for.
- Write the way you talk. Nobody's marking it.
- Keep it short. One page is plenty, and you can always write another.
Not sure what to say? Answer one of these
- What's something small about them right now that you never want to forget?
- What was happening in your life when they arrived?
- What do you want them to know when they're grown?
Or borrow a first line
- You won't remember this, so I'm writing it down.
- Right now you're ___ old, and your favourite thing in the world is ___.
- The day you were born, ___.
- When you read this, you'll probably be taller than me. Right now you fit in the crook of my arm.
Letter to you
11 November. You're six weeks old. You won't remember this, so I'm writing it down. You hate your socks. You smile at the ceiling fan and not at me, and I've decided not to take it personally. Your dad sings to you in the car, badly, and it works every time. I don't know who you'll be yet. I already love you very much. Love, Mom
When you're done
Fold it, put it in an envelope and keep it somewhere safe. If you have a Hareloom box, it goes in the place marked Letter to you.
That's it. You've started.
Hareloom is a keepsake box with twelve places for the first year, and Letter to you is one of them.