Help Others.org: 5 Love Notes To My Grand-mother -- A Kindness Story

I was just in France to visit my grand-mother who is very dear to me. I don’t get to cross the Atlantic very often, and she’s now 96 year old, so every time I go visit, the two of us are very aware that it might be the last time we see each other. Last time I visited her in December of 2004, I did a series of short video interviews about her life. I asked her what it was like to grow up with her father in the 1910s (her mother died during labor), to live through the German occupation alone with two young children with a husband away in a prisonner's camp in Germany. I asked her about her greatest memories and life learnings so far, her favorite books, foods, stories. I also asked her about her spirituality and her thoughts about death. I learned a lot of amazing new things about her I never knew before. These were very intimate conversations and a very special time for both of us.

This year, I did not really have questions, only a great urge for her to know how loved she is. I cooked for her, and read her stories. I gave her a foot massage, which I was amazed to discover was her first ever! Before leaving, I was looking for a way to leave something meaningful to behind besides the memory of our time together. So I wrote her five different love and gratitude notes to let her know how much she means to me, and hid them in different places where I knew she would eventually find them… One under the sheets, on her pillow. Another one hanging from the lamp shade by which she reads in the evening. Another one by her toothbrush. One in her mailbox which she eagerly checks every day. And a last one on her car’s steering wheel (she still drives to the nearby village a couple of times a week to run errands!). I left really joyous knowing that these cards would surely cheer her up after I left (she lives by herself). She called me as I was traveling back to Paris to catch my plane back to the US and said (in French of course): “I found your three cards! By the time I discovered the third, I was laughing out loud! They did me so much good. Thank you so much!” I smiled to myself, knowing she still had two more to go! It was Sunday, so my guess is that she had not checked her mailbox and had not yet driven her car!

As I was sitting on the plane back to the United States, I remembered that one of my friends' guiding principles is to treat everyone like family, and so I was thinking about ways to practice that in different settings, including on a plane ride. I decided that on my next flight, I would bring and write five anonymous appreciation cards for different people on the plane, including the pilot who probably does not get thanked enough for taking us safely to our destination.

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JuneBug wrote: My grandparents are gone. I wish I knew then what I know now. My mother is still here and this is a great reminder that I need to send her a card or something..Thank you so much!

brighteyes wrote: Tesa...I posted a comment earlier but since your story inspired me, I wanted to share that I too, left my notes, cards and a special inspirational book at my Mom's when I visited just this past 2 wks....I hid most but put the thank-you card in her daily meditation book so she would find it the morning after I departed..THANKS FOR THE GREAT IDEA....I hope she finds them when she needs them the most and they brightened her day (as she does mine). Blessings to you Tesa. Smiling "Eyes" ;)

Ravi wrote: Thanks for sharing a wonderful story. It really filled my eyes with tears of joy that there are still people out there who care for parents and grand parents. Who actually love other human as a human.

Thanks for sharing again and touching my soft core.

With regards and love,
Ravi

sandy wrote: I truly believe you have to let people in your life know how special they are to you because you dont know how long they will be in your life.
Writing notes and leaving them around for them even when you are not with them is very special. I do this with my dad and he appreciates it so very much.
I live with my dad after leaving an abusive relationship. we are a blessing to each other for the last two years. We talk and he tells me stories of when I was a little girl and I never get tired of hearing them at all.
We miss my mom a great deal but still have so many memories of her so she is with us no matter what.

happyhomemom wrote: a thank you note goes a long way. Thanks for the reminder that people still love to get real written notes.

Angel4eva wrote: everyone loves getting notes you have inspired me

denim1951 wrote: Thank you for the idea of leaving thank you notes to people. I leave notes for my dad who I live with when I leave to go on errands. He loves them and it is also a reminder to him where i will be and when i will return home too.

cassiemeadows wrote: that is such a good idea! oh thanks! i'm definately going to steal that off you. you are inspirational xx take care!

DMP wrote: Splendid! 1 inspirer.

gipsysoul wrote: Thank you all for your inspiring comments. More than 2 years have passed since i wrote these 5 love notes to my grand-mother. She passed away two months ago, on april 18 (2009). She had just turned 98 year old. I was unfortunately thousands of miles away when she left, but in our last phone conversation, 5 days before she passed, we had a last chance to tell one another all the things that matter. I wrote my final love note to my grand-mother for her funeral. I know she would have liked it! She came to me in a dream recently. She was sitting next to me at her own funeral, somehow letting me know that she was still around even though she physically moved on. I know that she and i will always be connected through the heart.

5 Love Notes To My Grand-mother

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