Grandparents' letters show love — and brutal honesty about growing old

Jenifer Norwell has a box full of letters that she wrote to her grandparents when she was living in Sudbury, Ont. three thousand miles away from her family.

When she moved to Sudbury, that's when she started writing regularly to her grandparents in Kamloops, BC, to try and stay connected to their lives.

While all the letters are special, Norwell says there are two in particular that stand out. One is the letter she wrote to her grandma after hearing her grandpa had died.

On May 25, 2015, I received the bad news said Norwell. It wasn't necessarily a shock but it was still a huge emotional blow. I knew something was wrong when his letters started to change. One of the last letters I received, his writing was almost incoherent.

"It was through the letters that I realised that I'm not going to be able to have this person physically in my life much longer."

Morning North7:29Letters of Note - Jenifer Norwell

Letters of Notes is our series all about the stories behind those letters that people just can't part with. In this edition... some of the final letters between former CBC Sudbury journalist Jenifer Norwell and her grandparents.

After the news of his death, she sat down to write her grandma.

"I'm just writing to tell you how much you mean to me. I've been and am so grateful to have you and grandpa in my life."

The other letter is from her grandma. It was never sent and Norwell discovered it after her grandmother died. The letter was among the things they'd inherited.

The letter, dated April 10, 2015, is very truthful about the struggles they were going through, Norwell said.

Here is an excerpt:

We are both just bones, we feel we rattle. 104 lbs each in weight. I did not want to write this to you, they all seem to want us to die. I know we are 95 and 96 years old, our anniversary of being married, practically the same time as 60 years married. I don't know why God hasn't take us. We love you both so much.

It is a hard letter for Norwell to read, but she appreciates the truth.

"This is the thing about letters. People tell you things that they would never tell you in real life or chatting on the phone because people feel this real pressure to be fine, to be happy, so they hide things."

It also helps to know Norwell said, that shortly after it was written, she and her husband did have one more visit home to see her grandma.

It was a time of joy, she recalled, right before her grandmother died.

If you have letters you would like to share for our series you can email CBC Sudbury producer jan.lakes@cbc.ca