2018 is winding down and I have a few goals I haven’t yet reached. One of my happiness goals is to complete a 7 Days/7 Gives. Every day for 7 days I plan on doing something for another person, an animal or the environment. One small step every day for 7 days. I haven’t yet figured out what steps I will take but I figured I could get myself in the mood by sharing something I did last year in an effort to not quarantine gratitude.
Last year, I wrote a letter to my friend Sue who was my first boss when I was in high school. She and her husband Chris (who has passed away) ran the one and only local restaurant and I worked for them all through high school and college. Both of them have had a tremendous influence on me and I wanted to express my gratitude to her for everything they did for me. If reading this inspires even one person to write a gratitude letter themselves, I will be thrilled!
So – this is the entire letter I shared with her last year…
Dear Sue,
I have been thinking a lot about my life lately and the people who helped me to grow into the person I am today. I wanted to take the time to say thank you to you and Chris for being such a positive influence on me from the time I was 15 years old. I grew up under your watchful eyes. You consistently gave me responsibility, encouragement and support and that helped me mature from an awkward teenager to a pretty well-adjusted adult!
Working with both of you at the restaurant gave me so much more than spending money. You both would talk about my common sense and that helped me to use it and to trust it. You helped me learn to listen to my gut and that has served me well. You trusted me to let myself into your home, your place of business and to know what to do when I walked in the door. You trusted me not only with the business related jobs but with household tasks and to babysit your son.
Working with the 2 of you I learned to not hold back when a wisecrack comment entered my head. This was big for a shy kid who was afraid to speak up most of the time. I treasure the memories of sitting in the backyard talking to Chris while he manned the grill, laying on the living room floor watching movies and sitting around the dining room eating employee dinner. I remember when you took us to the State Fair, to NYC and to Provincetown. You taught me to drive a stick (not very well) and Chris gave me my first ride on both a snowmobile and a motorcycle.
You guys gave me more nicknames than I can remember and they are reminders of how important you are to me. Hard ass, Bean, Beanola, Beanski are the ones I remember. Sometimes when frustrated with myself I utter “come on Beanola” to encourage me to do whatever needs to be done.
You were both always so generous with your time and money. You always included me in vacations, going out to eat, and gift exchanges even when I was a kid and had no way to reciprocate. I always knew I had a place to sleep, food to eat and people who cared about me at your house. You and Chris started out as my employers and then my friend and eventually my family. I’m not sure at what point you guys became family to not only me but to my whole family as well.
I guess what I am trying to say is thank you! I am grateful to the both of you for being part of my life! Love you and miss Chris so much.
After sending the letter, I didn’t hear from her for a little while and I kind of forgot about it. When I saw her a few months later, she brought it up and said it made her day! I am thinking about writing another gratitude letter for 1 of my 7 days of giving. It made us both feel pretty wonderful and that is a win/win!
So how about it? Will you write a letter of your own? I promise you won’t regret it! If you want to share it I accept guest posts right here at My Little Blue Kayak.
Lake Girl
