Love Letters

I come from an optimistic family. If a tree fell through my parents’ roof, I’m sure my mom would comment on how she always wanted a skylight. I thought I was different. I was harder, more cynical. My parents’ positivity felt like a liability at best and a delusion at worst. Only when I reached thirty did I realize: positivity is its own super power. It is an engine to power you through life’s hardest times. My parents weren’t practicing positivity because they didn’t see their struggles. They strove to be optimistic because they were aware of hardship.

Only when I reached thirty did I realize: positivity is its own super power. It is an engine to power you through life’s hardest times.

During the Covid lockdown, it was hard to be away from those I loved. I compensated by writing letters. I wrote my favorite uncle and told him how much he means to me. I wrote to my cousin, thanking her for introducing me to cool music as a pre-teen. I wrote to friends who impacted me, in ways both large and small. With each letter I wrote, I remembered. I remembered those who were there for me. I remembered those who knew me at my worst. I remembered those who made me my best. I thought of family members who I looked up to and wondered if they knew how important they were. They might not. So, I told them. Each letter I dropped in the mail contained a bit of me, shipped off across the country. My cousin called me when she got hers. We talked like we hadn’t in years.