What is it with mothers that save every little thing their small children do? When you find something you did as a kid 30 years later, you realize just how something that seemed insignificant at the time was a big deal to your mother.

When my mom passed away in 2005, we had the daunting task of cleaning out her apartment. Even though she had moved three times into smaller and smaller spaces since I left for college, she still brought with her things that meant the world to her.

Back in 1977, her father was hospitalized at Stephens Memorial in Norway after a heart attack. In the 70's children were not allowed in patients room, so the only way I could see my grandfather was to wave to him through his hospital window while in the parking lot.

To cheer him up, I wrote him a letter when I was six-years-old and when we started digging through mom's things after she died, I found it.

 

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It reads,

Dear Grampa,

I love you.

I hope you feel better

I hope you will come out of the hospital soon

I was going to peek in the window but I will call you instead.

Grammie is doing well.

I hope you are too.

Love,

Jeffrey

Not bad for a six-year old. Not a single misspelling and use of proper punctuation with ginormous commas. Of course it starts with big letters that got smaller as I went along, but whatever.

My grandfather died less than a year later. Clearly this was a reminder to my mom of her father and her son and the bond that they shared. Today, she's buried next to him in Bethel, the town she grew up in.

What's the lesson here? Keep everything your kids make. It means a lot to you and it will mean even more to them when you're gone.

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Are you ready to get the kids out of the house? Our Kidabaloo event is the perfect solution your family. Be a guest radio DJ , get your face painted, pet adorable animals or participate in several of the activities.

Join us at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, ME on Saturday, April 16 from 10am to 2pm. Tickets available online through Ticketmaster: $5 adults, $10 kids. (Children under the age of 2 are free) Please note Ticketmaster charges online fees even with a low price ticket.

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