Love Letters that are 46 Years Old. Should I Ditch them?

Leave them. Leave them leave them leave them...

That is a tough one. I would not want my boys reading some of the things that are mushy and such. My oldest is from my first husband and he has found out what this man is like. The youngest is from my last husband. This man also adopted my oldest son. They learned more about this man after we were divorced than I could of ever told them. To me, you need to do what you think is right. They are your memories.

Oh ... by all means make a memory book of them. They are priceless. Your kids, your grandkids...t hey'll all enjoy reading them. It's history...their personal history. Save it !!!

Oh Cynthiann, I don't know what your husband wrote you don't want your children to know about him, but I think that is so cool and if I were you, I would at least pass on the ones you feel are appropriate. I guess I say this for two reasons, 1) I never got a love letter, I mean my husband has written little sayings in a birthday/anniversary/Valentines day card, but never a letter, and 2) I am a romantic at heart and have read stories where a woman would find love letters and,like you, reread them, but instead of feeling embarrassed, she felt the love her husband or long lost love had written her.

oh that would be a shame to mess them up. a lot depends on how your children are with sharing personal matters. i have one daughter that has read and ive given her letters from when her dad was in the war. but i could likely never give the letters to my older daughter from when i dated her dad. shes more conservative you might say

May be you are right.You could scan those that are 'readable' and keep them in a folder marked 'those were the days'?

I say leave them for your children. You're not allowed to die for fifty more years, but when you do they will be happy to read about the connection you guys had. Sure, it might be pretty intimate, but I think they'll be able to see how cool it was. It just seems like the letters are more of a priceless heirloom (no matter what is in them) than a antique gold watch.

I would not burn them or go through them with a black marker. Those are cherished keepsakes that you should keep because you loved your husband and should value them that you have something like that at all, so many lose their loved ones without ever getting something like that as keepsakes. If they are something you wouldn't feel comfortable with your children reading, just keep them to your self. Share verbally the parts that you do want your children to know, they don't have to physically see or read the letters. Just DONT BURN them :(

I say keep them! I would keep them to yourself for now maybe and have it be some thing they get YEARS from now when you pass. It might seem a little embarrassing to you right now thinking about your kids reading them, but I think they would love to have them once you are both gone.

I say leave them the way they are. Your children are grown and should be able to handle the lovey dovey in the letters. I think that altering them in any way would be a disservice to your children. Those memories will be valued by them one day.

I decided to burn my diaries when I was diagnosed with cancer. My daughter have known me, the mother. THey love me and they hate me as a mother. I saw no reason to show them a part of myself that it is not part of their lives when I die. I read some of my old letters and also discovered that my memories were more accurate. Take care, friend!

I would keep them and leave them as they are. You might want to look through them again and remember happier times. I'm sure your children will find nothing that surprising in them, and you won't be here to be uncomfortable about them reading them. They deserve to know what their parents were like when they were younger anyway.

Personally, I would leave them as they are..and don't use a black marker pen either but that's just my personal opinion. I have quite a few diaries in my rucksack so heaven knows what will happen to them once I die. No doubt John will have fun reading them all if I ever go before him..then again I might stipulate they go up in flames, along with me in the coffin. Morbid thought but there you go.

Love letters, greetings, dairies they all mean so much especially at times when we are alone. They bring back sweet memories of past and we always want to keep them close to us as our cherished memories. In my opinion, those love letters are your personal cherished memories and you should keep them only to yourself. They are not meant for your children. Your husband sent it to you and it wasn't meant for your children to see. It would be even better to burn them and keep them safe only in your mind.

I think you should keep them. They are memories of a life you had before, ofthe dreams you had and couldnt or could come true. It is a way of showing that life isnt always the way you think it will turn out but as long as your happy then the past is just a simple memory that you learned from.

Keep them all for yourself. Leave them as they are. You won't regret it. Sharing them with others just de-values the memory of them. If you ditch them, they're gone forever. It's like killing off a good part of onesself. It's old advice, I know, but it is reliable. You may just find you will need them in the years to come.

I ditch old letters if they have pained me too much. But loveletters from your late husband could make you smile during your sad days, don't you think? Why not share it with your children so they'd know better who their father was.

So good that you still have that letter. I don't know if it is the best way to disgard it or not. It is really up to you on how you really feel on doing it so. If disgarding it or not will makes you feel good either of the options. And as you have you have said it has a lot of good memories. For me, I would keep it if goes like that cause me, I am a very sentimental person. Have a nice day my friend.

Keep them with you. Those are letters of some of your beautiful days. You shouldn't ditch them. Keep them in a safe.

I think its a beautiful thing that you still have those letters. I know he is still in your heart but its nice to have physical reminders. Depending on the subject matter you should give them to the kids, like you said it shows a side of their father they didn't know about. It can be a very special thing for a child to learn new things about their parents. I would frame some, make a scrap book, or put them inside of a bible or a book that you (the two of you) hold dear.