Love Letters

Back several years ago, my dear friend Barbara got tickets for our birthdays (We were born two weeks apart.) to see AR Gurney's Love Letters in Boston with Charlton Heston. It was one of my most memorable trips to the theater, not only because the play is one of my favorites, but also because we literally had front row seats. In fact, my seat was directly under Mr. Heston's podium.

Now, I must confess, I do not agree with Mr. Heston's politics, but the man has an undeniable presence on stage. The performance was wonderful; I cried at the end, which will surprise no one! Several years later, I had the good fortune to be able to perform Love Letters opposite my thespian friend, Tom at a local retirement community in Maine.

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What is it about Love Letters that is so intriguing? For me, it is the give and take of communication between two people over many years. Little notes that sometimes have few words but great meaning.

For those who do not know the play, the plot follows two people from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood. Their love/hate relationship is sometimes funny, often profound and ultimately heartbreaking. However, for me, Gurney is able to show how love lost can still be found, unexpectedly.

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Sending little notes has been a habit of mine for as long as I can remember. I enjoy taking the time to sit and jot a quick message to someone, just because. When my Mother was alive, I often sent her little cards or pictures with quick notes that said things like, "Thanks for being my Mom."

My daughters, when they were young, would leave love notes on my bed or bureau. Some of my favorites include, "Dear Mommy, Sorry you are sick. Get better soon!" and, "Dear Mom, I love you. God loves you, too. Love, love, love!" Not to mention, "Dear Ma, Thanks for everything." and "Dear Mom, Please don't ever, never, ever again leave my sister to watch us. She is crazy!"(This one I could do a blog post on all by itself!) I have kept everyone. When I am feeling blue, I pull them out and read them. I laugh, I cry, I feel so loved!

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The man of my dreams leaves me love notes, too. His are found in the most unexpected places, like inside my purse, or wrapped in a zip lock bag in the bottom of my lunch, or even under my pillow. He once wrote to me on a block of wood when we were renovating our Enchanted Cottage, leaving it on the table next to my tea. Yes, I have kept them all. In fact, for quite some time, I had one of his notes hanging up by my desk. It read, "Linda is Love." What a beautiful testament to our life together! How wonderful if we all saw each other as "Love."

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I know that with instant messaging, Twitter and all, sending hand written notes to those we love is not part of our day to day practice...but wouldn't it be nice to take a moment and jot down a sweet nothing for someone in your life?