To trash it- or to keep it?

I will NEVER throw away any letters - especially since everyone sends "letters" on the computer now, and real letters are few and far between. I'm sorry- letters sent via computer aren't letters, they are e-mail, and a cold, sad, impersonal comparison to words written on paper by someone's hand holding a pen, not to mention their spit on the envelope.

I have saved almost every letter ever written to me, and now the kids have their own "memory boxes", but sadly, their boxes will never has as many real letters as mine.

Of course, this sentimental flaw in me is partially the reason why our cars will never see the inside of our garage.

She does/did a great job communicating with me - I just didn't know how FAR she had gone in her sport until I saw the medals. That's why I suggested keeping things like that - conversation starters!

I'm currently trying to get my grandmother to write her life story down - amazing some of the life experiences she's had!

Getting her to write down her life story would be a great way to get her to open up. Obviously, if she didn't talk about her medals, you are probably missing out on other stories. If she won't write down her stories, perhaps she will give you an interview. I learned very much about my grandfather via an interview based on his life -- mostly focussed on his childhood, though contains things like the location of graveyards where family members were buried.

I knew Grandma wouldn't have the energy/computer savvy to WRITE her autobiography, so my latest suggestion was for her to dictate the stories into a tape recorder and then have a medical transcription service or her companion write it up. There are some hilarious stories!

I knew Grandma wouldn't have the energy/computer savvy to WRITE her autobiography, so my latest suggestion was for her to dictate the stories into a tape recorder and then have a medical transcription service or her companion write it up. There are some hilarious stories!

FYI- there are cheap and free software programs available which do a great job of converting voice recordings into written word. I have one with my laptop.

FYI- there are cheap and free software programs available which do a great job of converting voice recordings into written word. I have one with my laptop.

Is this the secret to your amazing number of posts?

Thanks for the suggestion, but Grandma doesn't do computers. The anxiety from dealing with a computer would end the project. Plus she needed something for her companion to do, so I ws trying to kill 2 birds w/ one stone.

I will NEVER throw away any letters - especially since everyone sends "letters" on the computer now, and real letters are few and far between. I'm sorry- letters sent via computer aren't letters, they are e-mail, and a cold, sad, impersonal comparison to words written on paper by someone's hand holding a pen, not to mention their spit on the envelope.

I have saved almost every letter ever written to me, and now the kids have their own "memory boxes", but sadly, their boxes will never has as many real letters as mine.

Of course, this sentimental flaw in me is partially the reason why our cars will never see the inside of our garage.

Same here jdarg. I have letters that go all the way back to 1973 when I lived in Iran. I have all the letters my mother wrote me while we were there. I also have all of the letters that the friends I had made while there wrote me when I came home. I am a serious, serious pack rat when it comes to sentimental stuff. I have 3 big rubbermaid boxes filled with stuff. I even have church bulletins that my old boyfriend would write me loved notes on during church (guess you can tell the church stuff didn't sink in very well with me. ;-) ). I keep wanting to throw all this stuff away, but when I (once every 2 or 3 years) sit down and look at all of it, it takes me right back to that time in my life, and so I keep them. Maybe one day I will get rid of them, but I don't think that I can.

Thanks for the suggestion, but Grandma doesn't do computers. The anxiety from dealing with a computer would end the project. Plus she needed something for her companion to do, so I ws trying to kill 2 birds w/ one stone.

I transcribed my grandpa's tape recorded interview, and I rather enjoyed it, though it is very long. Go for the companion method. If that doesn't work, you may try the computer program, and play the recorded tape into the computer mic, and wah-la!

Same here jdarg. I have letters that go all the way back to 1973 when I lived in Iran. I have all the letters my mother wrote me while we were there. I also have all of the letters that the friends I had made while there wrote me when I came home. I am a serious, serious pack rat when it comes to sentimental stuff. I have 3 big rubbermaid boxes filled with stuff. I even have church bulletins that my old boyfriend would write me loved notes on during church (guess you can tell the church stuff didn't sink in very well with me. ;-) ). I keep wanting to throw all this stuff away, but when I (once every 2 or 3 years) sit down and look at all of it, it takes me right back to that time in my life, and so I keep them. Maybe one day I will get rid of them, but I don't think that I can.

Isn't it fun to do that occasionally?

Oh dear, I just saw how many typos are in my post. As usual, I was rushing.

Definitely keep some of it, even if you weed out the duplicates of a time period.

My Mom got rid of so much of mine and it really bothered me. So needless to say you can't move in my house, because other than dirty diapers I thew nothing away of my daugher's. ;-)

I still have her first pair of shoes and pacifer.