Final Thoughts

Unless I think of something else, this will be my last post for the Letters from Linda blog. I'd like to thank those of you who joined me on this trip down Memory Lane in 2017 and 2018, and I'd also like to thank those of you reading this in the future, whether I'm still around or not. Hopefully you found some entertaining, informative, educational and enlightening bits here and there.
I'm sure I got more out of this exercise than anyone else, since I was there as these events unfolded. I was surprised at some things I did not remember at all, such as my grandmother's visit. But I was pleased that Mom wrote about several events I did remember, such as my big scare at Universal City Studios, to reassure me that my recollections were fairly accurate. It was nice to get her perspective on those events near the time they occurred, and it was also good to have some questions answered, such as how we really ended up driving through Watts. (I had always thought Mom simply got lost one day.)
Some interesting things I learned which I don't recall Mom ever talking about over the years were the unexpected length of our stay in L. A. through Christmas, and the back and forth nature of deciding whether Mom and I were going to fly back to Texas or ride back with Dad. The twin scare was also news to me, as it was to my sister Laura. The ups and downs of Mom and Dad's friendship with the Dirrs was also news to me and quite interesting to follow as things unfolded.
I gained a lot of insight into what was going on with the extended family at the time, some of which I knew about and some of which was definitely news to me as I went through the letters. It was interesting reading about Mom and Dad's perspectives on all of that family drama, too. Some of that was published and some was redacted since there's no need to share 50-year-old dirty laundry with the world in most cases.
It was certainly interesting to see how Mom and Dad dealt with the cultural changes as a result of moving from Texas to the west coast, and how things fit into the history of 1967-68. But in the big scheme of things, all of that eventually faded into the background. When you step back and take a look, everything more or less revolved around life in our apartment, Dad going to work every day, Mom trying to keep a curious, bug-collecting, five-year-old boy entertained, and the friends and visitors we interacted with while living in Los Angeles. Normal stuff, in other words.
The best thing of all for me, I think, was getting to know my younger parents a little better. You might think you know your parents because you grew up with them, and then when you become an adult you might think you know them because you're an adult now, too. But they were different people back when you were a young child, navigating their way through a different world, trying to balance being a parent with all the other responsibilities of adulthood. On the one hand I was surprised at some things I learned about both of my parents, and on the other hand some things fit perfectly with the parents I knew. There were also a few enlightening moments that explained some things I had never really understood until I read these letters.
I guess Mom's diary and letters turned out to be a way for her to communicate posthumously and somewhat intimately to future generations. I have no idea if that was what my grandmother intended when she saved the letters, or if that's what my mother intended when she saved them after my grandmother died. But I know I am very fortunate to have them and I'm glad I took the time to go through them. I suppose my blogging about this experience will be a way for me to communicate to future generations as well, someday posthumously.
So if you're fortunate enough to have one or more parents around, I highly recommend scheduling some time with them to talk about what they were doing before you were born and when you were very young. Don't just ask them to write it all down, because they probably won't. Sit down and have face to face conversations about it. Listen to their stories. You'll be glad you did, and some day you'll regret it if you don't.
Along those same lines, if you aren't keeping a diary or journal of some sort, start one. You don't even need to buy anything since you can do it online and keep it private. However you do it, just make sure someone will be able to get to it when you can't some day. Put boring stuff in there, thoughts about family events, thoughts about world events, whatever. Go back and make entries about major events such as where you were on 9-11, how insecure you were in high school, big mistakes you've made, etc. You'll be glad you did, and some day someone else will be gladder.
In closing, I'd like to say thanks to Mom and Dad for the wonderful time in Los Angeles, thanks to Mom for keeping a diary for awhile and writing the letters back home, and thanks to Nana for keeping those letters. And thanks again to you for reading some or all of this, whoever you are.