Letters to Great Grandma

I spent this past weekend at my Grandma's house helping her clean her garage before her big move happens in a week and a half. Christy went too, and although she couldn't lift anything too heavy because of her pregnant state (it's a BOY!!!), she had more energy than I would have thought for someone who is 5 months pregnant. We also loaded up some heavy flowerpots and a birdbath that would have cost a lot to move when you are paying by the pound. and dropped them off at my aunt and uncle's house, close to where Grandma will be moving.

While we were working in the garage at Grandma's, we had the privilege of sorting through an old trunk that belonged to my Great-Grandma Hobbs. In it were pictures of families I am related to but will never get the opportunity to meet in this lifetime, and some pictures of family members I know well, most of them taken when they were children and young adults.

It was fun to see Grandma, Mom, Aunt Susan and Uncle Marty as babies, young people, teens, and young adults. Since I didn't get to know them until they were all adults, it is hard to imagine them being so young, so seeing those pictures was priceless! Grandma will keep most of them, obviously, but I got to bring a few home with me.

Also in the trunk were letters and cards from Great Grandma's grandchildren and great-grandchildren (yes, some from me). Most were thank you cards from birthdays and Christmas. Here is just a sample of the progression of my writing skillz.

I was 6 when I wrote this beauty:

Dear Grandma
we went tothe
fire Department
today.
ihave a loose tooth.
i am having a Birtday
Pretty Soon.

Love
Carody
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Also from when I was 6:

Dear Grandma
Thank (backwards "k") youfor the
gloves and the
BarBie yougave me
and the nigtgown
i Love you.

Love
Carody
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I was so much more eloquent when I was 7 years old. Here is a sample:

Dear Grandma Hobbs.
I realy likedthe
letter you gaveme.
did you know that
my tooth came out?

I like you a
hole bunch !

LoveCarody
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And this is from when I was 8 yrs. old:

Dear Grandma Hobbs,
Thank you for
the $5 bill and thank
youfor the card.
It was very
nice of you.

Love
Caro
dy
-----------------------------------------
And then I turned 9 and became VERY grown up. I wrote in my best cursive, and all of the letters slanted to the right at the perfect angle.

Dear Grandma Hobbs,
Thank you for the money. I
liked it very much. (read: I spent it the day after I got it in the mail.) I had a
wonderful birthday. I hope I
will see you sometime.








Love,
Carody
------------------------------------------------
Then I reverted back to straight up-and-down printing for my Christmas thank-you letter.

Dear Grandma Hobbs,

Thank you for the pajamas, they fit
really well. And I've used the soaps alot.
I hope you had a nice Christmas.
Happy New Year!

Love
Carody (this had a heart around it)
--------------------------------------------------
Then I turned 10, and my Grandma complimented me on my cursive, and I swore I would never write in anything but cursive ever again.

Dear Grandma,
I love you. I had a wonderful birthday.
Thank you for the $5.00. I am having
fun at school. I hope I can see you soon.


Love,
Carody
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The summer when I was 10, we (Christy and I) stayed for a week at Great Grandma's house in a teeny tiny town. She had barns, an outhouse, a garden, a forbidden well, and lots of little places in her yard where my sister and I could hide out and play those rhythmic hand-slapping rhyming games. We also took a lot of walks on the old train tracks that went through the town. This is what I wrote after that experience. Also in cursive, on pink Hello Kitty paper.

Dear Grandma,
Thank you for let-
ting us stay at
your house. We
has lots of fun.
Eating ice cream
and smushing
it was fun.
I had fun
when we went
to the stores too.
Thank you for
buying clothes
for us. We liked
them.

Love,
Carody
-------------------
Then I turned 11. I was very hung up on being proper in my letter-writing, but I didn't put a lot of thought into what I wrote. Here goes! Yes, still in cursive. I even underlined it all.

Carody _____
my address
the rest of my address
April 14 1991

Dear Grandma,
Thank you for the
$5.00. I had a great
birthday. I hope I
can see you soon!
Sorry it's late!

Love,
Carody ____ _____
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After my 11-year-old Christmas. My handwriting looks constipated, but it is still in cursive. I also printed this "card" (piece of paper folded into fourths) from our Atari. I was SO mature.

Dear Grandma Hobbs,
Thank you for the
picture book and the
pajamas. I've worn
the pajamas almost
every night. The
picture book is neat.
I had a great Christmas.

Love,
Carody
---------------------------
When I turned 12, apparently I decided I had had enough of the cursive for a while. My printing was sloppy and pointed in all different directions.

Dear Grandma Hobbs,
(I do remember that when I wrote this letter, I was very annoyed because I ran out of ink after writing "Dear Grandma Hobbs," and had to change pens, and the pen I switched to had a different shade of blue ink than the first line of my letter. Ugh. A pen-lover's nightmare.)

Thankyousoverymuch for the
pajamas & the cross-stitching set.
They are wonderful! The pajamas
fit perfectly. I'm sure I'll start
on the cross-stitching set soon.
Have a very Merry Christmas &
a Happy New Year! I am
having a great school year, &
I hope it continues that
way. I love you very much!

Love,
Carody _____
(sometimes I signed my last name, sometimes I didn't)
--------------------------------------------------------
When I was 13, I enjoyed using "big" words, like "appreciate," and "sometime" (is that a word? I think not). Still writing in print, but very, very neat print.

Dear Great-Grandma Hobbs,

Thank you for the card and the $5.00. I really
appreciate them. I hope you are feeling well.
Maybe we'll get to see you sometime soon.
I had a wonderful birthday!

Love,
Carody
-------------------------------------------------
For some reason, there aren't any letters from when I was 14. Maybe I was rebelling? Poor Great Grandma! But look at this one from when I was 15. I wrote for me and for Wesley, who was 6.

Dear Grandma Hobbs,

This is from Carody and Wesley. We
hope you have a wonderful Labor Day.
We hope we can see you soon. We also
hope (we were very hopeful) you can use this bookmark. It
is a little early, but Wesley couldn't
wait. He says this is enough writing.
He drew a picture for you.

There was a picture of an apple that I drew, and then a very elaborate picture of what I can only assume is Great Grandma. He drew her with big curly hair, a big smile, and some more hair on the side of her face (huh?). The only reason I know this is because I carefully labeled everything. I remember that Wesley was very precise in his drawings, and always wanted everyone to know exactly what everything was in his pictures. He always drew people with their "arms and hands stuck together" and with their "legs and feet stuck together." I wonder what the psychological assessment of his pictures would determine about his personality.
---------------------------------------------------------

When I was 16, I wrote this letter with a green marker on construction paper. Must have been Wesley's idea! I had gone back to my wonderful cursive handwriting, with just the slightest bit of tilt to the right.

Thank you for letting us join
you for lunch and supper. We
really enjoyed it. "Thank you
for the book," says Wesley. I
say thank you for the note
pad. I can really use it
Hope we can see you again
soon. We love you!
Love,
Carody & Wesley
--------------------------------------

Thank you for joining me on this trip down memory lane!