{"id":5601,"date":"2017-12-04T11:10:29","date_gmt":"2017-12-04T16:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=5601"},"modified":"2017-12-04T11:10:29","modified_gmt":"2017-12-04T16:10:29","slug":"12-days-of-love-letters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=5601","title":{"rendered":"12 Days of Love Letters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever gotten a handwritten letter that just completely made your day? To be honest, pretty much every one I get makes my day. There’s nothing quite like checking your mail on a mundane day, expecting nothing but bills and yet another Mary Kay advertisement, and finding a handwritten note from a faraway (or near) friend.<\/p>\n

Now, imagine it’s nearing Christmas time, and your life has just been really hard lately. You’ve been struggling with depression, or your mother has cancer, or you’ve lost your husband in a wildfire accident, or you’re trying to recover from an eating disorder and not managing to block out the lies in your head. Imagine feeling like everybody is merry, except you, and wondering if anybody would really care that much if you weren’t around anymore. Imagine checking your mail on a day like that, and finding not one, but a whole bundle of letters from strangers, sending you hope and love and light.<\/p>\n

That’s what 12 Days of Love Letters is all about. Hannah Brencher is putting together a campaign to send letters to people who desperately need a little hope just now. You can read\u00a0her story here<\/a>, and\u00a0see how this grew from a lonely girl in a big world leaving little notes for strangers around the city, to thousands of letters being sent to people in need. I love writing letters almost as much as getting them, and so when I found her story, I instantly connected with it.<\/p>\n

Now this is where it comes down to you. Let me introduce Chris to you…<\/p>\n

\"split<\/p>\n

\u201cChris was born with a severe medical condition that has resulted in many surgeries and repeated hospitalizations over his lifetime. Despite the suffering he experienced, he was a bright and active child. His upbeat and happy demeanor brought joy to many. While in the hospital, he would entertain nurses by singing songs from his favorite cartoon movies. Then Chris would walk down the hall to visit friends and encourage them in their own recoveries. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

But as he’s grown and become more aware of the differences between himself and others, Chris has struggled to stay positive. The medical regimen required to keep him alive and relatively healthy is very tiresome. He doesn’t know anyone else with the same conditions and has always felt tremendously isolated.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Now in his mid-twenties, he is feeling desolate because he is still living at home and isn’t able to have a “normal” life like others. He longs for a romantic relationship but doesn’t believe anyone could want him or love him because of his conditions and the resulting physical limitations. Recently, he confided to my mother\u2013his grandmother\u2013that he is so lonely that life doesn’t feel worth living.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Would you like to join me in sending cheer his way this Christmas? If so, pour yourself a cup of hot cocoa, tuck yourself into a chair under your twinkly Christmas lights, and start writing.<\/p>\n

PLEASE MAIL ALL LOVE LETTERS BY DECEMBER 20 TO:<\/b><\/p>\n

Chris\u2019s bundle<\/span>
\n\u2105 Angie A. <\/span>
\n9617 Great Hills Trail\u00a0<\/span>Apt #1235<\/span>
\nAustin, TX 78759<\/span>
\nUSA<\/span><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever gotten a handwritten letter that just completely made your day? To be honest, pretty much every one I get makes my day. There’s nothing quite like checking your mail on a mundane day, expecting nothing but bills and yet another Mary Kay advertisement, and finding a handwritten note from a faraway (or near) friend. Now, imagine it’s nearing Christmas time, and your life has just been really hard lately. You’ve been struggling with depression, or your mother…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[92],"tags":[307,309,308],"class_list":["post-5601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-relationships","tag-12daysmll","tag-hope","tag-more-love-letters"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/letter-mail-mailbox-postbox.jpg?fit=1920%2C1260","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8A8kG-1sl","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7176,"url":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=7176","url_meta":{"origin":5601,"position":0},"title":"Little Letters, Moving Edition","author":"Rachel","date":"February 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Packing, I know people aren't supposed to like packing, but there is something about fitting everything just so into a box that is immensely satisfying to me. I guess it's like solving a puzzle, which is one of the best Sunday evening activities (I know, I'm 85). 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For eleven more days there will be stories like this one, stories of people who are facing a lot right now and need help. I know it’s a busy time of year, and a thousand things are tugging at your attention. But if this is something that piques your interest, you can enter to receive the other eleven request at\u00a0this page.<\/a>\u00a0It just takes a few stamps and some time to share our hope with these people.<\/p>\n