May 25th, Memorial Day, marked 30 years of marriage for my parents. Right off the bat they told me they didn’t want a party to celebrate, but I still wanted to do something special that reminded them that their nearest and dearest were thinking of them.
I found an idea on another blog over a year and a half ago. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to tweak it and use it for my parents’ anniversary. Needless to say, I’ve been holding on to this idea for a long time and I’m so glad I did because it turned out to be incredibly special.
30 Years of Memories
I started out by compiling a list of close friends and family that I thought might have a memory to share of my parents over the last 30 years. I wrote a letter and stuffed them in cheap envelopes. It said:
Hello everyone!
If you’re receiving this letter, you might know that our parents, Laurie and Randy Seys, are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary later this month (May 25th). To celebrate their anniversary, we’d like to put together a little surprise to let them know that their nearest and dearest are thinking of them (and because they won’t let us throw a party). We’re going to try and create “30 Years of Memories” by filling 30 envelopes with a memory their friends and family have of them.
And this is where you come in!
If you have a spare moment in the next few days, we would be so grateful if you’d jot down a favorite memory you have of our parents and drop it in the mail or email it back to us. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy – you can just write it down or type it up and sign your name. You can mention anything you like – although the more nostalgic the better! Please absolutely feel free to send more than one memory (remember we’ve got 30 envelopes to fill!) And definitely pass this message on if you think someone else might have a memory to share!!
Memories can be sent to:
(This is where I included both my physical address and my email address)
Thank you so so so much for participating – we know everyone is busy this time of year, and we do appreciate you taking a few minutes to do this; it will be so worth it when they read all the memories together!
(Please don’t forget to keep it a surprise until then, though!)
Thank you so much again!
Much Love,
Kyle and Amy Seys
I dropped them in the mailbox, crossed my fingers and waited. A few days went by and we got nothing. I started panicking, wondering if people would think this was a silly idea. Worried that people might not have any memories. Boy was I wrong!
After the weekend went by, letters started trickling in; eventually pouring in. So many people seemed to have a memory to share and well-wishes to send. I was ecstatic.
I’m the kind of person that likes to work on tight deadlines as I oftentimes wait to complete a task until the very last possible second. This project was no different.
On Monday, May 25th, I officially collected 30 letters. I stuffed them in half-priced envelopes from Hobby Lobby, shuffled them up, numbered them, tied them with twine for a rustic touch, and presented them to my parents.
It was such a special moment to be a part of. There were memories from when my parents were little, stories about how they met, the first times they met each other’s parents, letters from neighbors who remember them building their house and moving in, and stories from when my brother and I were little during stormy camping trips and vacations.
I felt extremely lucky to have put this project together. Memories, and life, are fleeting, but after watching my parents go through each and every one of those letters, I realized that love is what makes the entire trip worth it.
