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I was cleaning out a box of old stuff tonight, and I came across something I never ever expected to read/hear/see again. My mother comes from a long line of packrats; she saves everything. When I go to her house, I wind up recycling things, going to Goodwill/Habitat, and throwing things out every single time. When we lived with them during Katrina, I condensed four storage units down into one. We donated three truckloads of crap to charity, had a yard sale in which we made over $3k, and gave tons of stuff to friends and family.
Sometimes I bring boxes of random crap back with me to go through and throw away things that really aren't worth saving. Among the empty CD sleeves, boxes of staples, and endless papers, tonight, I found a gem.
It's in my late father's unmistakable ALL CAPS (he always wrote in ALL CAPS) handwriting, and contains, perhaps, the only instance (one line only even) I've ever seen of his having written in cursive and in lowercase. He was a horrible speller, but I'm typing it verbatim.
That was his talk in Sacrament meeting the day before I left on my mission.
Sometimes I bring boxes of random crap back with me to go through and throw away things that really aren't worth saving. Among the empty CD sleeves, boxes of staples, and endless papers, tonight, I found a gem.
It's in my late father's unmistakable ALL CAPS (he always wrote in ALL CAPS) handwriting, and contains, perhaps, the only instance (one line only even) I've ever seen of his having written in cursive and in lowercase. He was a horrible speller, but I'm typing it verbatim.
January 31, 1993
(in cursive) Ask Mac to Stand beeside you.
MAC, FROM THE 1ST SECOND I SAW YOU, I KNEW YOU WERE SPECiAL. AS WE HAVE GROWN-UP THROUGH LiFE TOGETHER, I HAVE LEARNED FROM YOU. YOU TAUGHT ME DISCOVERY ALL OVER AGAIN. I LEARNED TO LOOK AT LiFE THROUGH THE EYES OF A YOUNG BOY AGAiN. AS YOU SUCCEEDED IN SCHOOL, I FELT YOUR JOY AND WATCHED YOUR CONFidENCE GROW. I REMEMBER YOUR EARly ENCOUNTERS WITH FAiLURE AND WAS REMiNDED of MY OWN SHORT-COMINGS. I WATCHED YOU OVERCOME MOST OF THEM, MAC YOU WERE AN INSPIRATION TO ME. YOUR UNCONDiTiONAL LOVE FOR YOUR MOTHER AND SISTER HAS MADE ME EXAMiNE MY OWN FEELING, MANY TIMES. MAC, I LOVE AND RESPECT YOU VERY MUCH.
TOMORROW YOU BEGIN A NEW PHASE IN YOUR LiFE. IT IS UP TO YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECiSiONS. EXPECT TO MAKE A FEW WRONG ONES. KEEP YOUR HEART, YOUR SPiRiT AND YOUR DEVOTiON WHERE IS IS TODAY, REMEMBER ALWAYS WHY YOUR ARE THERE AND LAST ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE A FAMily THAT LOVES YOUR---UNCONDiTiONALLY.
(in cursive) Ask Mac to Stand beeside you.
MAC, FROM THE 1ST SECOND I SAW YOU, I KNEW YOU WERE SPECiAL. AS WE HAVE GROWN-UP THROUGH LiFE TOGETHER, I HAVE LEARNED FROM YOU. YOU TAUGHT ME DISCOVERY ALL OVER AGAIN. I LEARNED TO LOOK AT LiFE THROUGH THE EYES OF A YOUNG BOY AGAiN. AS YOU SUCCEEDED IN SCHOOL, I FELT YOUR JOY AND WATCHED YOUR CONFidENCE GROW. I REMEMBER YOUR EARly ENCOUNTERS WITH FAiLURE AND WAS REMiNDED of MY OWN SHORT-COMINGS. I WATCHED YOU OVERCOME MOST OF THEM, MAC YOU WERE AN INSPIRATION TO ME. YOUR UNCONDiTiONAL LOVE FOR YOUR MOTHER AND SISTER HAS MADE ME EXAMiNE MY OWN FEELING, MANY TIMES. MAC, I LOVE AND RESPECT YOU VERY MUCH.
TOMORROW YOU BEGIN A NEW PHASE IN YOUR LiFE. IT IS UP TO YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECiSiONS. EXPECT TO MAKE A FEW WRONG ONES. KEEP YOUR HEART, YOUR SPiRiT AND YOUR DEVOTiON WHERE IS IS TODAY, REMEMBER ALWAYS WHY YOUR ARE THERE AND LAST ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE A FAMily THAT LOVES YOUR---UNCONDiTiONALLY.
That was his talk in Sacrament meeting the day before I left on my mission.
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