Eco-Friendly Mama: Safe product recommendations with a focus on organic and Made in USA!

I went to my bank lock box today to put in my annual letter to my daughter who turned 12 in July and decided it was time to bring everything in there home and organize it. It holds our passports, birth certificates, etc. But it also holds cards, letters and notes to both my kids. I’m not sure when I will give them to them, but I’ve been accumulating them since they were born. My original idea was when they turn 18, but I’m not set on that either.

I journaled extensively throughout my childhood and enjoyed it a lot. However, at the age of 20 the farmhouse I was renting burned to the ground while I was away on a camping trip. I came home to a pile of ashes, and literally the clothes on my back and my camping gear. I learned then what was important, and it’s the stuff that’s irreplaceable. This was before the age of cell phones and a huge digital foot print. These were the days of actual photographs, and hand-written journaling. All that was gone. But I was young, and all the material goods were replaceable. I couldn’t bring myself to start over with journaling though. I’m sure it would be super cringey to read about my life as a middle-schooler now, but oh how fun too!

When I was pregnant with my 1st child, a decade later, I thought it was a great time to start putting words on paper again. So I started writing to my unborn son. And when he was born, I kept writing for a couple more years. I also asked my family to write a birthday card/letter to him for his 1st birthday; with the intention he open it on his 18th birthday possibly? I wasn’t sure my final plan, but I went with it. And we did the same with my daughter. Cards, letters, little notes.

Over the years, the enthusiasm has waned on this project, from everyone but me. I still write to them annually. Generally my goal is to do so on or very near their birthday, but a few years the months got away from me and it was an end of year letter. Kinda’ a year in review journal. I put them in our lock box at the bank, since I know how quickly they could all be gone forever should something happen to our home. My oldest is now 14, and my baby girl just turned 12. All these letters/cards stacked together make quite the impressive stack. And each is a personal note from me or their dad, a grandparent or auntie. I long to know what they say, but it’s none of my business. These are for their eyes only.

To me, these are the greatest types of gifts I can leave my children. They will likely forget every toy, every book, every game I bought them. But these are priceless. Memories. Details of their growth & development. Highlights from our year. Some are hand-written, but not all. I’ve started typing them over the years but always add hand-written notes to each one too. I think about them reading these someday, possibly when I’m gone. And I hope they’re grateful that I took the time to do this. I know I do not regret leaving them these gifts.

No matter how old your kiddos are, I hope you’ll consider doing this. It’s not too late to start! And remember. It’s the little things that really do matter.