Love Letters

I just got done going through a stack of papers from one of my closets. In it I found beautiful, anniversary and birthday letters from Noah to me, and me to him. They were filled with hope, passion, humor, depth, encouragement...

And then I came upon several older letters that I had taken from my mom's house a year ago. They were love letters between my parents. Reading through them, I was struck with how similar their letters were to ours. They were funny, deep, encouraging, hopeful, passionate. It was like I had taken a quick peek into another side of my parents. A side so similar to me.

The sad thing is that my parents are no longer married. They no longer write love letters.

I can't imagine the pain they must have felt, like ripping a part of their body from them. 16 years and 5 children later, to have nothing.

Of course there were circumstances and reasons and a lot of other things contributing to their divorce. But no matter how you cut it, it truly hurts. Everyone.

Oh how I wish they were still married and in a week and a half, that we would all gather together for a thanksgiving full of memories and laughter.

I can't bare to through their old love letters away. They represent a life we once had. They represent a beautiful relationship that produce me and all my sisters. I'm going to keep them and read them and be thankful that my parents loved each other.