Dear Future Bride

"Back in the day, whenever I went to a baby shower I would arrive with envelopes filled with empty, beautiful cards. On each envelope was a number from 10 to 25 and I'd hand one to each guest at the shower. The game was that each guest had to write a note to the child for a future birthday. If you got number 10, for instance, you'd write a note for the birthday celebrant to open on her 10th birthday. As the years have gone by, the infants have received cards from people who have died (grandmas and great aunts), absurd advice about contraception; even an aunt who included a $10 bill with a note to buy herself a drink. For a kid's 16th birthday, someone once wrote 'I knew your mom when she was 16 and I thought she'd crash the family car, but she never did and neither will you.' The beauty of the gift is that each year the baby receives the hopes/dreams/advice that everyone had for her when she was born. The first one I ever did recently turned 25 and she told me it was a heartbreaking birthday because she knew her letters were over. So I guess we should have kept going!" -- Catherine T.