Letters to Ethan: Joe's Story

By Sharon Svitak

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 18, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456839307

Sharon Svitak

Sharon Svitak, a native San Franciscan, mother of two grown children, and recently widowed, began writing letters to her grandson, Ethan, to work her way through the painful loss of her husband. But what began as an outlet for her grief became a project to pass on to her heirs some of the good memories of her thirty-four year marriage. A published writer of articles and essays, Letters to Ethan: Joe’s Story, is her first book length work.

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Copyright © 2011 by Sharon Svitak.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2010919089

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4568-3929-1

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4568-3928-4

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4568-3930-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

Forward

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

This book is dedicated to my first grandson, Ethan Joseph Svitak. These letters would not have been written had he not come into our lives.

Forward

When I gaze into the future, I visualize my descendants—my children and their children and their children’s children—reading the letters I have preserved for them. Ethan, I expect you will have grown to adulthood. These are not for the child you are now, but for the man you will become.

The letters are not intended to be the whole story. How could they be? They are merely snapshots of a man who left the legacy that life is meant to be lived; an ordinary man, who lived an ordinary life, but with an extraordinary impact.

This man was no saint. After all he was ordinary. This man had his flaws, but I choose not to remember them. Instead I choose to celebrate his life. I remember the vitality he brought, the excitement he conveyed, the endurance he exhibited.

I present him as an example of how a person—male or female—can make the most of life without being wealthy, without having multiple degrees, without the pretensions that accompany being someone of importance.

I hope that all who read these letters find the love they contain. That each discovers some personal kernel of truth.

It matters not who we were born to be; but who we choose to be.

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December

Dear Ethan,

Happy birthday big guy! I’m so happy to have been allowed to share this first year of your life. I want you to know how very much I love you.

I am dying now. I’ve made my peace with God; I have said goodbye to your father and your Aunt Carmen. They’ve given me their blessings and their permission to move on. The time has come.

I have lived a long and fruitful life. Grandma Sharon has cared for me with love and devotion throughout my illness. Thank you, Sharon, for all you have done to keep me comfortable and unafraid.

You, Ethan, are my legacy, the continuation of my family name. I have great hopes for you—that you will grow strong and healthy—that you’ll value education—that you’ll be happy in life.

Your choice of career matters only that your