Jane's Bundle Update
In December, you rallied to make Jane’s Love Letter Bundle a reality!
Jane was nominated for the 12 Days of Love Letters by her daughter, Karen.
Karen wrote to us to share her mom’s story. Jane has struggled with depression and anxiety all her life, but the past two and a half years have been particularly challenging. Right as the pandemic began to bring the world to a standstill, Jane lost her husband and had to sell the home they had shared together for the past 30+ years.
“While we were able to spend time with him as he passed, outside of immediate family, no others were allowed at the strictly outdoor service and we could not have the traditional shiva,” Karen wrote. “We may have been one of the first funerals to stream on Facebook so that our loved ones could participate.”
On top of her grief, Jane then had the stress of clearing out and selling their beloved home and moving to a condo. While she was surrounded by children and grandchildren to help her and who love her, this period brought her to one of her lowest points.
“She has been trying very hard to find her good place--or at least a better place--again,” Karen wrote. “Now that the world has opened up, she has gotten back into the things that she used to do before the pandemic and my stepdad passed, like volunteering, exercise classes, book club, etc. But every day is a struggle to just get going.” The burden of carrying all of life’s logistics alone weighed heavily on Jane, and the fear that she might not have much time left with her thirteen-year-old dog added anxiety to her already worn heart.
Karen shared, “It is hard for my mom to focus on the many positives in her life - her health, her family, her beautiful new home, and her many friends. She is almost always in a state of anxiety and beats herself up for the things she's not able to complete on her own. I am so proud of her willingness to try alternative treatments to support traditional psychotherapy and medicines, but she has not felt much relief from her symptoms. She is physically healthy, except for having lost a significant amount of weight due to her anxiety, but she is in a lot of mental anguish. I think it would have an enormous impact on her to receive encouraging, supportive, and empathetic messages of positivity and love from a variety of people.”
The love letter bundle would be coinciding with Jane’s 77th birthday, so we were on a mission to remind Jane of just how loved she is, and how much good is still in store for her - and to celebrate another year of her beautiful life.
Letters flooded in, and Karen shared that she was overwhelmed in the best possible way.
“Not only have there been wonderful letters, but also thoughtful stickers, bookmarks (I had mentioned my mom is in multiple book clubs), poems, and many excellent suggestions for ways to find joy in each day or to calm anxious feelings. There were also notes that included references to me and it really touched me beyond belief. I have definitely cried some happy tears reading these beautiful and caring thoughts,” she wrote. “Every day, I thought it would be the last stack of letters, but then the next day another stack came, and then the day after that. I cannot even pick up the oversized gift bag where I have been placing the letters. The post office despises me! This picture does not do justice to how many letters I've received on behalf of my mom! If I put them in a stack they are probably at least 3-4 feet high. Unreal!!!”
It was a storm of goodness - exactly what Jane needed as she fights to find her joy again.
“I have truly been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, admiration, encouragement, kindness, hope, and joy for my mom that has come from the army of More Love Letters writers,” Karen shared. “I had no idea how much of an impact reading these letters would have on me, not to mention how they will touch my mom when I give them to her.”
“I am so glad I took a leap and decided to do this and I cannot wait to share these letters with my mom.”
