Feel Good Boxes

I save cards.  I save ones from my best friends, my family, and my students.  I guess you could call the boxes I keep them in "feel good boxes."  Whenever I get a card that has a special message in it, or it is from someone who means a lot to me, I stick the card or note in my feel good boxes.  The boxes are on a shelf in my living room, and most days, I forget about them.  When I do take them out, I usually end up bursting into tears after reading one or two.  They usually hit a nerve of some sort, and  I end up crying.  They aren't sad tears, though.  They're "I feel loved" tears.  

This all started in my senior year of high school.  I started to attend my church's youth group and went on a retreat.  On the retreat, you receive letters from your closest family and friends.  These letters are a surprise.  You have no idea that they were written, and when you read them on the second night, you're completely taken over with a feeling of love.  It was actually a euphoric night, and I can truly say I felt the love of God like never before.  It was an incredible feeling at the age of 17, and I continued to be involved with this particular retreat center for the remaining time I had as a high school student.  

I kept the notes from this time of my life, and continued to collect notes that I received at other times, like birthdays, holidays, and other special times.  As you can see, my blue box has been filling up, and I've now begun to collect student letters in the yellow box.  I keep the basket out, and usually toss all my cards in there throughout the year.  At the end of the year, I'll go through the basket and reread cards I've received, and will keep the ones that I truly love.  

My "feel good boxes" are an incredible way to keep memories alive.  Tonight as I was thumbing through my boxes, I came across two VERY special notes.  All four of my grandparents have passed away.  I came across notes from my grandparents from my dad's side.  The most incredible thing about these notes was that I had one from my grandma and one from my grandpa.  Grandma always sent me letters growing up, but I never had a handwritten note from my grandpa.  In all the years I've fished through these letters, I guess I always missed that one.  As I read his note, I was filled with many emotions.  It wasn't every day that my grandparents took the time to say how proud they were of me.  But in these letters, the words were written.  I'm so incredibly blessed that I will have these love notes forever.

I have loved the surprise letter writing idea so much that I've incorporated it into my classroom. Each week we have one student as the "Star of the Week."  During that week, our class is able to learn about that particular student.  On Wednesday of every week, the Star's parent writes a letter to our class.  It's top secret, and usually arrives at school in a sealed envelope.  Sometimes parents include photos, a dvd photo montage, or just a simple letter or poem.  I read the letter aloud to the class, and usually we all giggle together when we hear about a silly baby story, or gasp in awe saying "wow, you did that??? I didn't know that!!"  It's a memorable moment for the star and the rest of the class.  Whenever I'm finished reading the letter, I always tell the student to put it somewhere safe to keep forever.  

Just like Dawn was saying she'd grab her photos first if anything was to ever happen to her home, I'd have to say that these letter boxes are high on my list of things to grab.  Do you have a letter box?  If you don't, I highly recommend starting one.  If you hold onto those special letters, one day you'll be really happy you can read the words of some special people all over and over again.  

Looking at the boxes that are sitting in front of me, I have to say that I'm very blessed...and very thankful.

Have a sweet night. xoxo