It’s every once in a while that you read something that moves you beyond words. Well, almost beyond words, or else I wouldn’t be able to post about this, eh?
Imagine a husband who, after spending some time overseas helping the poor, felt that, with today’s society being all about the newest toys, gadgets, financing for expensive baubles with money we don’t have and credit cards a-plenty, that he’d change his family’s idea of the holidays, and him and his family would give homemade things to each other for Christmas, while donating what they would’ve spent to help the less fortunate.
That in itself is amazing. But there’s more.
He decided to give his wife, the mother of his children, a book compiled of letters from other mothers to his wife, words of encouragement, mother stories, if you will, and called it The Mother Letter Project. From his website:
Christmas day of 2007 came and went. It was the typical American Christmas—gizmos, gadgets, whatnots, and an oversized helping of turkey. Two days and a transatlantic flight later I was standing in a small other-continental village regretfully pondering my extra helping of Christmas turkey and materialism. I decided that things would be different in 2008.
This year, my wife and our extended families have decided to give a Christmas present to that little village. We want to spread our wealth, meager as it may be. We have decided to create presents for each other and donate the difference to our friends in the village. And here is where you come in. I am creating my wife’s Christmas present-the Mother Letter Project. Simply stated, I am collecting a series of “open letters” from mothers, to mothers. Share your stories—no matter how raw or difficult. Share you concerns—no matter how foolish they may seem. Share your wisdom—no matter how you came by it. Share your mother story. The only request? Start the letter “Dear Mother” and sign it. I will compile all of the letters in a Christmas book for my wife. If you share a letter here or by email ([email protected]) before Christmas, you’ll get your own copy of the letters.
Do you want to join me in writing a Mother Letter to him for her? I hope you do. How can you not want to?
Thank you so much, husband-of-someone-else for reminding me, of us all, of what this holiday is truly about.
Now, off I go.. I have a letter to write.
Edit: My letter
