Hello, and welcome back our 5th Tuesday – First Stories edition. In this series I am going to be sharing some of my earlier writings with you all. *gulps and wonders if this is such a good idea* Now remember, I did NOT like writing, but I’ve always had a big imagination.
Today’s stories are the very first “letters” I wrote when I first started getting a little interested in writing. My friends and I made up pretend families, pretended we lived in a different era, and wrote letters. These are so boring. And short! They got a little more interesting as the time passed.
The first letter is the very first one with that friend, and we really didn’t have any specific year for those letter to take place. The second letter is the 2nd letter to a different friend. (My friends were sisters in real life.) This one was supposed to take place in a certain year, but if you know history, you will find so many historical errors in our letters. Oh well. We were young in writing.
Dearest Ellen,
How I wish that you had been with me yesterday. As I was walking down the street I saw Henry Wadsworth Longfellow! That famous poet who wrote “Paul Revere’s Ride”. I wouldn’t have known it was him except that Uncle Mark told cousin Mary and I who he was. Imagine seeing that great poet walking down the street in Boston!
Mama said I could invite you to spend the afternoon with me on Friday. I do hope you can come. It might be the last time I get to see you before I got to Concord with Uncle Mark, Aunt Sara, Mary, Polly, Phoebe & Philip. Be sure that you write me while I am gone. I really must be going, Ellen dear.
Your Loving Friend,
Ann
1787
My Dear Elizabeth,
It has now been almost a week since you left us. It has rained for five days, and Annah and I hardly know what to do with ourselves. Lee entertains us sometimes with stories of the war, but he is often busy. Annah and I have been learning a new hymn; with me on the violin and Annah on the piano. It is called “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken”. John Newton wrote it. It is a pretty song.
Did I remember to tell you why I am with my Uncle & Aunt instead of with my family? (I am sure I forgot!) Well, I have been ill, as I am sure you remember, and the doctor said I needed a change of climate. So Uncle & Aunt offered to let me come and stay with them. So here I am.
It seems so quiet here with no little voices saying; “Sister, I can’t find my shoe!” “Sissy, my dolly’s dress is torn! Will you mend it?” “Ann, will you please help me with this math figure?” And no little footsteps running in the door and a sweet little voice saying, “Here is flowers for Auntie Ann.” And how I miss their sweet voices saying at the end of the day; “I love you!” I had better stop writing about them or I may start crying.
I must go because it is dinner time.
Your Loving Friend,
Ann
Not that interesting were they? Have you ever written “pretend” letters with a friend? If you haven’t, would you want to? What era would you want to pretend to live in?
These were so cute! I can definitely picture girls having fun making them up and writing them! I don’t think I’ve written pretend letters with a friend. If I did, I would probably like to pick the Orgeon trail timeframe or when settlers went to the Cumberland Cap area. I have written letters to an imaginary person and wrote letters to myself from that same person. Haha.
I will admit that these letters started my love of writing. Well, once they got a little more interesting. 😉
Oh, writing both sides of the letters sounds like how I wrote Home Fires, only both letter writers were made up.