What if I told you I had a letter for you from your husband who died two years ago. Would you be thrilled? Freaked out? Maybe you'd throw garlic and holy water at me. Well there's a company based in San Diego called PS I Love You Letters that vows to deliver notes from the deceased to their living loved ones. No magic or tomfoolery involved, either. PS -- it's real.
Say you're ill. Or a first responder, or in the military, or just want to cover your bases in the event of your untimely death. You order a kit through PS I Love You Letters, register online, write your heart-felt letters, seal 'em, send them back to PS I Love You, and they'll store them until your predetermined send date.
Then it's all knock, knock, who's there, it's a letter from your dead spouse. Letter from my dead spouse who? HOLY WHAT?!
I can't decide where I come down on this. If I received a letter from my grandmother two years after her funeral, I don't know if I'd be freaked or totally excited. I'm thinking I might be annoyed and confused by the surprise. She died, I took some time to heal, then moved on. It would be very startling to receive a letter she wrote to me. I would think it would be too shocking, and I wouldn't be prepared for it ... would that make me enjoy the letter and the experience less?
I seriously cannot decide! I would be so touched that she thought of me, planned and wrote a letter for me, and shared with me her feelings, but I'd also be like dammit! I just accepted your death! And would be a ball of a sobbing mess on the floor all over again.
I guess it's OK to feel that way, though.
I suppose it would be different to get a letter from your dead husband or wife who had their life taken too soon. Maybe a PS I Love You letter would be a nice sense of closure. I can see these letters becoming a great tool for military families, and people with high risk jobs. In those cases receiving a letter from beyond might be very romantic, healing, and helpful.
I hear that sitting all day at a desk is going to kill me, so I might need to start my letter writing campaigns ASAP. Dear Mom, If you're reading this right now, you already know: I've died from sitting. Sorry about that. Shoud've gotten that treaddesk you recommended. Hugs, Lindsay. PS: I love you.
What do you think of the PS I Love You letters?
Photo via zappowbang/Flickr
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Comments 6
How can I set a predetermined date? IDK about you but I have no clue when I will die.
If you are in the military or first responders... you already do this... they are placed in the care of your unit Chaplin. My mother also did this and placed the letters in with her will and special papers... You don't need a "special " company to do this for you.
No thank you. I think that'd be creepy as all get out.
Lindsay, thank you for taking the time to write about us and contemplate the service we offer.The way our service works it does not matter when you die because your account does not become "active" until we receive a notification card which is part of our kit. In most cases, we receive this card after someone passes and at that point, and up to five years later. This card is stored with estate planning documents, banking documents, etc., and is simply mailed back to us. As to second comment, you are right that the military does this with the Chaplain, but other first responders do not. By this we mean fire, police, etc. who work in dangerous jobs. When we started this - we heard that question a lot - why can't I just do this myself? And you certainly can. But there were many who said that they did not have anyone that they trusted to mail the letters - or not read them. Coming from an estate planning background, we see many family arguments when someone passes and to have a bunch of letters with a will - could lead to a whole lot of problems. What we provide is the security that the letters will never get lost or destroyed, they will be private, and they will be delivered. As to the creepy factor - we understand that some people will feel this way, but it is very rare. When we go to senior expos and people see our product and service, many actually start crying and tell us that they wish they had known about us earlier. Happy to answer any ?s.
I ran out of space there so the first part does not make sense. Let me try again. There is a Notification Card that comes with the kit. That card is placed with your will and other estate planning documents. When you pass (or someimes before) that card gets mailed back to us and your account then becomes "active." That is when the dates become important but it is not based on the year - but on the day and month such as an anniversary or birthday or Valentne's Day - and there is a five year window for delivery from the time we receive the card. We have people who want a birthday card send for the next five years after they pass. This is all explained on our site. Hope this helps.