Medicinal Memories

Sometimes you just need a trip into the past to remind you of why you're doing what you're doing in the present. So, I spent part of my evening sorting through a large stack of papers and memorabilia that Keith has kept tucked away over the years. This find was one of my favorites.


It was written on November 20, 2001 by Shane about 2 weeks before his 8th birthday. It says,

DEAR MAMA AND DADE
U WIL NEVER SE ME AGAN I HAVE RAN AWA I DO NOT LIKE THE WAY U TrIIT US
LOVE ShANE

I'm glad I kept this note, but I'm especially glad I wrote a translation and an explanation so I'd really be able to get a laugh 9 years later.

Translation:

Dear Mama and Daddy,
You will never see me again. I have ran away. I do not like the way you treat us.
Love, Shane

Explanation:

Written at 9:30 AM after I told five children (T, S, E, D, C who had slept in again) that breakfast had been made and cleaned up and they would have to get their own cereal if they wanted to eat. Shane planned to run away "about a mile up the road and live in the woods". After writing the note and emptying his dresser he changed his mind. He discovered there were sweetened wheat puffs to eat.