Grieving Dad Gives 100 Love Letters to Strangers in Late Wife's Honor
Hyong Yi lost his wife Catherine Zanga to ovarian cancer on Nov. 21, 2014, and after going through the hardest year of his life, Yi wanted to do something to honor Zanga on the anniversary of her passing.
He teamed up with a few of his late wife’s friends and wrote 100 love notes, all based on memories and conversations he had with Zanga. Fifty of the letters were written from his point of view, and the other half were written from Zanga’s, Yi told WCNC.
“My hope is that they will take a moment to reflect on the love in their life,” Yi told WCNC. “What I wouldn’t give to have one more minute, even a minute to talk, hold hands and I want people to take a minute and reflect on that.”
Yi and his two children passed the letters out to 100 strangers on Friday, Nov. 20, and the response over the last week has been incredible. Photographer Lindsay Hart captured a number of images of the family passing out the notes. Many individuals were moved to tears when they heard the family’s story.
“We all need a reminder of what’s important and that’s my job today,” Yi told WBTV prior to passing out the cards.
“In daily life, we get so busy that we often forget to express our love for one another. We assume our loved ones will always be there,” Yi wrote in a post on the project’s Facebook page. “Today, I invite you to take a moment to honor the loves in your lives. Let’s remind ourselves what’s most important in life – sharing our love with one another. Please join #100LoveNotes in writing a love note or sharing an expression of love (ex. – chalk art, post-it note, skywritten note, etc.) with someone you love and share it on social media with the hashtag #100LoveNotes.”
In the notes’ envelopes, Yi enclosed blank cards so recipients could pen a love letter to someone dear to them. Since then, hundreds of people have posted their own notes (and even snapshots of Yi’s original letters) under the #100LoveNotes hashtag. Here are some of our favorites:
#100lovenotes A photo posted by Tim Cravens (@tim_cravens) on
Today’s a good day for love too. #100lovenotes A photo posted by @kbeach2509 on
A little healing today. Share some love. #100lovenotes https://t.co/iGJy7T2PPz pic.twitter.com/EeZterGYY7
— Lynn S. Caldwell (@LocavoreMoxie) November 20, 2015
For more photos, visit Hart to Hart Design’s Facebook page and website, and for more information on 100 Love Notes, be sure to check out 100LoveNotes.com.
The Mighty, in partnership with Fuck Cancer, is asking the following: Write a letter to yourself in regards to a cancer diagnosis. What would you say or wish someone had told you? Find out how to email us a story submission here.
h/t BuzzFeed