DEAR CARL By Anna Friend
Hello, Dear Carl fans, I am thankful for your support of Carl’s mom. She has made a fresh start in the new year. In her mid80s, continuing to thrive for quality of life and establishing a legacy of family love. Carl’s mom had lived in North Carolina for most of her life. She was a southern transplant and had enjoyed the culture, hospitality, and high regard for kin—family closeness. She became a widow in her early 40s and has only one son. Carl was just entering college when his dad died. Carl married a beautiful woman (Donna) with ties in Arizona. He moved and established his home in Arizona soon after college. Carl has 2 sons and is a grandfather of 3 children. Carl’s mom had friends and community work she enjoyed in North Carolina that kept her from moving to Arizona upon her husband’s death. She had lived in the home where she and her husband shared most of their married lives. She eventually moved into a senior living cottage, where every week she sat at her dining table and wrote her son a handwritten letter, though he called her almost every Sunday. Near her ending years, she moved to Arizona to live with her son and his wife in Arizona. She continues to write her son letters to put away for him to read after her passing for comfort and encouragement. This letter is one he would read after her death. She writes in the present tense because she is alive while writing them. I hope you enjoy. — Anna
28 | M AG A Z I N E N A M E PAGE 3 28
