For over 10 years, I have written a "Family Letter." It started when my parents were called to be MTC presidents. Remembering how faithfully my parents wrote me on my mission, I decided I owed them the same courtesy. At the time, I was working as a front desk person for a company, answering phones, so I able to, at work, write most of my family letters. Believe it or not, but this was before the common use of e-mails and most of my family didn't have e-mail addresses, so I would print out multiple copies of the letter and then snail mail them to everyone.
So, over ten years later, I am still writing them and many people have told me, "I wish I could do something like that. It is just too hard." So, I thought I would explain, how I do it, so people know how really easy it is.
At the start of the month, I open up a new Word Perfect file labeled by the date, "February 2008" for example. Then, whenever something happens, that I think I want to add to the family letter, I either come into our computer room and type it then, or write it down on my white board, to write about it latter. I would say during a months time, I do about 1/2 and 1/2 of each. Usually once I have three or four stories written on the white board, I know I need to stop what I am doing and go and write them down in my Word Perfect file. Once the stories have filled about two pages, I know it is time to send the letter. People like getting mail but any letter over two pages, most people loose interest.
Once I have filled two pages, I use the cut and paste buttons to arrange the family letter, so it is in a more readable form. I also usually add an intro and closing paragraph. Sometimes I do need to rewrite certain paragraphs but usually I have done the writing piecemeal throughout the month. The final corrections take me about 20 minutes before I copy and paste it to an e-mail to send out.
How is it different than blogging? It isn't really but I have parents who still refuse to get Internet and most of my siblings like to know what is going on in my life and I are not bloggers. Sometimes, I cut and paste things directly from my blog to put in the family letter. I would say my letters are more personal, using our real names (everyone who get a copy knows me well and I don't worry about "just anyone" reading it) and much more detailed. I have told anyone who gets a copy to feel free to just delete it if they think it is too boring, braggy, or obnoxious (I have been accused of all three things in my life.) However, most people tell me they enjoy them, so I keep them on the "E-mail family letter list".
I really try to be as honest as possible and that means admitting to all who get my letters when I have lost my patience with my kids, confessing when my house is a wreck and I decided to read instead of picking it up and that led to my one year old, dumping out a whole bag of brand new Grape Nuts on the floor, etc. I also try to include things like what teachers have written on report cards, if my kids learned something (like lying to us and having to face the consequences), current words my little ones are saying, funny things they do (like making mushtaches out of duct tape and pretending to be an artist), etc. The family letter is my journal so sometimes, I do write my personal feelings about something as well.
So, there you have it. Since I write it piecemeal, it doesn't feel like it takes much time and now when I go back over the letters, I discover I have written about things that I have NO MEMORY of. And, sometimes my kids will ask about stories of them when they are little, I pull out the old family letters and read them aloud. It is really then, that I am thrilled I have taken the time to write them.
