Kaya 12 – “Read This When…”

TIME to challenge ourselves once again. This TIME we will brush up on our letter-writing skills. Yes, the “To whom it may concern” kind. But instead of sending it, we will keep the letter in our scrapbooks, until the TIME comes for the recipient/s to open it.

We will travel forward in TIME (now you know why that word was in all-caps four times now…ooopppsss…five). Humor me. It’s April Fool’s Day.

I want you to write a letter to a loved one or loved ones (maybe your child, your spouse, your significant other, your sister, anyone you would like to say something to) to be read sometime in the future and incorporate it into a scrapbook page. We’ve all heard about time capsules. We are literally turning your layout into one.

Now you have to set a date as to when the recipient should open your letter. It could be a specific date (for example, on their 18th birthday), it could be an event (when they get married), or it could be an experience (the first time they have their heart broken). Until then, your letter should remain safely hidden in your scrapbook page.

Letter-writing in scrapbooking is hardly a novel idea. I got the inspiration for the subject from Real Simple magazine. They had an issue when eight writers were asked to share letters they’ve written to their children to be read ay various milestones. Some examples (from the magazine) to make you want to pick up that pen:

***To Lydia, age two, to be read the first time I disappoint you.
***To Sloane, age one, to be read on your wedding day.
***To Leta, age three, to be read when you realize that I do not know everything or, more specifically, on the first day of your college philosophy class.
***To Alex, age 11, to be read when you first dent the car.
***To Thomas, age 18 months, to be read when your own baby still isn’t sleeping through the night.
***To Finneus, age three, to be read the first time your heart is broken.
***To Cliff, age seven, to be read on your first day at work.
***To Siobhan, age two, to be read when you reach six feet tall in the sixth grade.

Inspired yet? Here are some tips to help you get started.

Imagine yourself and your recipient in the future. What would you say to him/her as s/he crosses another milestone? Would you want to prepare him/her for eventualities like their own child crying through the night? Would you tell him or her that heartbreak can be a good thing? Would you give advice? Share the lessons life has taught you?

Talk a little about the now. Let your recipient remember the younger versions of you and her/himself. Can you connect the present to something you might want to say in the future?

Talk about your relationship. If you had this one chance to write a letter, what would you say? It could be humorous, instructive, bittersweet, a tear jerker. You decide. It’s your letter.

Most of all, have fun. Enjoy the process.

Here are the minimum guidelines for this challenge:

1) Your LO title should follow this format: “To Recipient, aged (current age of recipient), to be opened on (specific date, event, occasion or experience).

2) You can include as many photos of as many people or objects that support your letter, but the FOCAL PHOTO must be a current photo of you and the recipient. This will help the recipient visualize you and your relationship as you are writing the letter when s/he opens it in the future.

3) Your letter must be handwritten (to make it very personal) and well-hidden. Otherwise, your recipient might inadvertently read it before the time has come.

4) You must use buttons in your layout. (Why? Because I used some in mine, that’s why.) But seriously, I think buttons add a homey touch and they’re readily available.

5) Your layout may be 12x12, 8 ½ x 11, and unfortunately (sorry, digital scrappers) must be traditional because of the hidden journaling component. It will also be nice for your recipient to have something s/he can feel and touch as s/he reads.

6) Deadline for this challenge is April 29, 2008, Tuesday, 11:59 PM.