What I Love About You Gifts....

A few years ago, I made binders for my sisters family. In each of the binders, I wrote a note to each child and a note to my sister in her binder. Here is one of the actual notes for one of my nieces.

"My thought and memories about …..
I remember how excited we were to learn about a new cousin being born.
You have always been such a great example to your sisters and brothers.

I have been so impressed at how you take care of your siblings for your parents and how loving and patient you are with them.

I also have been amazed and how you help your mom with everything and I have never heard you use a harsh tone.

You are always happy and kind and I love seeing your smile.

I look forward to seeing your future blossom.

I love you and am glad you are a part of our family.

Love,
Aunt
November 2009

For a thank you gift, my sister bought the frame pictured above and had my family sign it. She asked them to write a reply to the question, "What I love about ___ is?" The family wrote cute little notes as to why they love me. I thought that was very thoughtful of her but as she was limited on money at the time, she came up with a way to thank me which meant more than any gift money could buy.

A few years ago, she had me for Christmas in our family gift exchange. She lives out of state and couldn't be home for the holiday so she had all my siblings write me a "Top Ten Things I Love About ___ are:" and then she had each person give it to me when it was my turn to open my gift. I cried reading each personal message to me. I kept the letters in my journal.

I wanted to thank my sister and so I wrote this list for her:

"Top Ten Things I Love About You!
You always make others smile
You make each person feel special
You are always thinking of others before yourself
You are gracious
I know when you say you’ll do something, you will
What a wonderful Mother you are
How grateful you always are for even the smallest item
Your example of always following the Spirit
Your dedication to stand up for what is right
That you are my sister and my friend
Love, your big sister"


Another time, I had to have my friends and family write a letter for the special master during my divorce as references. What I received was an overwhelming gift. The letters I read told memories or stories of me that I forgot or situations where I made a difference in the person's life for good. I felt like I was at my own funeral. It seems that we only tell the good things about a person after they are dead.

I appreciated hearing what everyone had to say or thought of me so I thought they would perhaps enjoy the thoughts and feelings along with memories about themselves as much as I enjoyed mine.

With that thought, I decided to write each person who wrote a letter for me, I wrote them one back with as much detail as the one they wrote. It took me several weeks to get them all done and sent but I received so many thank you notes and calls for the letters.

I decided I wasn't going to avoid telling others how much they mean to me after that experience. Why do we wait until funerals to share how much we love and appreciate others. They aren't around to hear it at that point so it is wasted. We should learn to share it before they pass on.

My suggestion and goal for this week is to ponder on someone who has made a difference in your life and to write them a "Top Ten" or a "What I like about you..." letter.