Monday Mourning -- A Letter from Hannah

Not long after Hannah went to Heaven, I started looking for it.  I went down to the garage and dug through boxes of Hannah's old school papers.  It was a painful search, as I dug through those dusty boxes full of memories.  I had to harden my heart and force back the tears in order to keep my vision clear enough to continue the search.  I could only do it for so long, and then I just had to give up.  I fully intended to go back down and try again someday, but I just couldn't make myself dig through that stuff again.

Fast forward to this past Friday night.  Bethany and I were home alone for the evening, and we were having a great time looking through some old family photo albums.  After we finished with the photo albums, we dug through the shelves, searching for something else we could look through.  We ran across a couple of books that I had actually forgotten about...some memory books that I used to keep up with some of the girls' school stuff over the years.  You know, the kind that you do a really good job with through the early elementary years, and then kind of slack off as they get older.  Well, maybe some of you do better with that sort of thing than I do!

Anyway, as I looked through Hannah's book, smiling as I looked at her pictures and read about her favorite books, movies, friends, etc., from each grade, I noticed that there were pockets between the pages.  I reached into one of the pockets, and found her report card and standardized test scores for that grade.  Well, that was fun, so I started checking the other pockets to see what else I might have put in there and forgotten about.

And I found it!  Yes, the thing I had been looking for out in the garage a few years ago!  It was a school assignment Hannah had done for Mother's Day when she was in third grade.  When she brought it home from school oh, so many years ago, I loved it so much, I pinned it up on the wall in the sun room of our home in El Dorado.  I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to have found it again ... It will definitely be going up on the wall again, this time in a frame!

Here's what it says (with the original spelling, punctuation, and grammar intact) ....

"Mom I know you love me you know how?  Well if something bad happened to me I know if you were there you would save me.  If I was sick in the hospital you would comfort me.  If I was drowning you'd save me I know.  If someone kidnapped me you'd look for me.  If pirates told me to walk the plank she'd tell them that I couldn't.  If I had a bad grade you'd talk with me.  If someone died I'd have a shoulder to cry on.  If I was embarist she'd talk with me.  If there was a tornado she would tell me it's all right.  If I lost my game she will tell me I love you anyway.  That's how I know she loves me!!!"

This "Letter to Mom" was precious to me when Hannah was in third grade; it's priceless to me now that she is in Heaven.  

I'm so glad that she knew I loved her.  And I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to demonstrate my love for her in all the ways she mentioned in her letter ... well, except for the kidnapping and walking the plank parts.  :)   How blessed I am to have been her Mom!