Why Dear Everybody?

I got the idea to call my blog “Dear Everybody” from my Mom. She did not write a blog, but she did write an end-of-year letter to her family and friends that she slipped in with her holiday cards. Some of her relatives did give her grief for the group letter, but the truth is, she had her hands full.

My Mom was born and raised in Chicago, the second of 5 children. The whole extended American side of her family lived in the Chicago area. When my mom married my dad, who worked for IBM, they moved to the east coast. Initially Mom was quite the letter writer, keeping up as best she could with her sisters and brothers, mom and dad, grandparents and aunt and uncle. But at a certain point, like after she had given birth to 3 children in 3 years, my mom did not have the same kind of time. Hence, the “Dear Everybody” letter was born.

I have to say, her letters were pretty amusing. She was not one to brag about her family. She was much more in the habit of telling funny stories about us. It inspired me to write my own “Dear Everybody letters” when I had my own children , back when I used to send out a holiday card. I did it until I didn’t feel so comfortable writing those amusing little stories about my kids. Oh the joys of the teenage years! But now they are grown, and this is not about them (for now), so it’s safe to do it again.

It is in honor of my mom, Mary K Richardson, that I dedicate these blog posts. She was one of the best people I have ever known and I feel lucky to have had such a funny, generous, loving mother. To you mom! The Dear Everybody letter lives on!