Advice needed
 

My friends daughter ( other side of the country) just invited me to write a letter for her son's first birthday. The letter will be placed in a time capsule to be read on her son's 18th birthday. I will most likely never meet the boy, and will be long gone by the time he's 18. What can I write about.

Write about your friend (the boy's grandmother) and your friendship. You will be able to introduce him to a different side of his grandmother than he will know. Tell him how you met and what his grandma was like long before he knew her, things you've done together and why you're her friend. She may also not be around when he is grown and he will treasure your remembrance.

we did something like this at a baby shower I went to. the note was tied around a candle and each year one was to be taken out and read.

A friend of mine did that for her daughter and when she turned 18 she opened all the letters. The daughter said it was the best present ever.

I've been invited to a first birthday party with the same request. When I told my friend (the grandmother) that I didn't know what to write, she suggested writing some sage advice for someone who is just starting adulthood.

I immediately thought of "you will never get rich by borrowing money." I think I'll make a list of wise sayings.

Even though you may not meet, it might be fun for the young man to hear about your connection to his family. You can also write about where you live and what it was like for YOU at 18. Cost of houses, cars, gas. Top song, modern colors......

Great idea she had!

Obviously I am so not with the times ... as I have never heard of this being done.
It's a great idea. Though, a tough one for anyone as to what to write.
And how much? how little? :)
I think the really hard part would be to determine what is important to say now,
and yet be relevant 18 yrs from now too.

Like the others, I think I would suggest writing about your friendship with his Grandmother. How it started, and how it endured. Special times and not just the celebratory ones. Perhaps something his Grandmother did for you, when you were struggling in life, one way or the other, for him to gain a better insight into her personality.

Like RedStilettos, I thought of telling about your own 18th birthday, your life at the time and what was happening in the world then. So much can be gathered from the internet.

Another thought might be to write about the things you know now, that you wish you would have known at 18 and how that might have changed your life.

I agree with you ... somewhat a tough challenge when you probably will never meet this young "man"!

My nephew and niece are doing this for their little guy this year. I think all these ideas are great. You might want to add what your friends reactions were to finding out about his birth.

I may be wrong here but when my kids were 18 (boy and girl) they could care less about an old friendship of their mother's, especially never meeting this person, maybe they would appreciate it when much older. I can just see an 18 year old saying ''yeah, whatever". Maybe my kids were different. We had a friend from New Zealand that gave my son a tiny bottle of beer that apparently ages well and was told to open it on his 21st birthday. The kid is 30 and the beer is still sitting in a cupboard!

I think it's a great idea - I would so love to know more about all my grandparents, now that I am one, and have a little time on my hands. Things about how they were as persons, or as children- I am so curious, and they are gone, gone, gone. I moved away with my husband after we married in our twenties, and I never really even got to know my parents as "adult people" in their own right - wish I knew more about them too. So shed a little light for this young one. And don't worry about when or if they'll be interested. At least you've done your part of the deal!