IT ALL STARTED WITH A LETTER

I started dating my husband as soon as I arrived at UT, at the ripe old age of 17. However, he was several years ahead of me, and soon graduated and took a job in Houston. A year later, he was transferred to Asia. Since email had not yet arrived on the scene, I wrote him letters. Very good letters. So good, in fact, that he came running home to fetch me the minute I graduated.

When our kids were 5 and 8, we got transferred to Indonesia, and the grandparents were not happy. I started up the letters again, and learned to use words to paint pictures of our daily activities, turning our adventures into stories that would help the relatives to feel connected. The letters ended when we moved back home several years later, but after my father-in-law had his stroke, I wondered if perhaps they should not have. One of his brothers sent him a letter every week, come hell or high water, and having someone read it to him was the highlight of his week. Apparently it meant the world to my mother-in-law as well, for she mentioned it every time we saw or spoke to her.

When we bought this house in Wimberley, and suddenly had so much news to tell, I started up the letters again, primarily for the benefit of older friends and relatives who did not have email. I added my college-aged kids to the list when they complained about never having anything in their mailboxes. Then others began asking to be added to the list, which eventually led to the blog, and the rest, as they say, is history!