A few weeks ago we spent the weekend in the cities to be together with our family as my Uncle Jim was buried, celebrated and remembered.  It was a special time, made even more so by looking around a room and knowing that everyone there was family.  There were aunts, uncles, cousins, their spouses, and loads and loads of kids.  Many times over that weekend I thought about how much my Grandma would have enjoyed that crowd - watching all of the kids, hearing all of the laughter.

All those kids had a ball together.  The older ones ran around the hotel, the younger ones ran around the outdoor patio.  The groups split pretty evenly with the exception of my cousin Jenine's daughter Grace, who fell sort of in the middle.  I'm sure that she could have joined in with the older kids, and I know that she could have held her own.  But instead, she set her sights on Sophie and they became pals.  Grace - happy to be the older girl, suggesting ideas and having a willing follower.  Sophie - enamored with her new friend and adoring in her attention.  They sat together, played together, kept each other busy and occupied and happy.  Which was good for all of us.


For days after, Sophie kept asking about "My Grace" - where she was, when she was coming over, when she could see her.  Then yesterday, a package arrived for Sophie in the mail.  "It's for you.  It's from Your Grace," I said. 

"Ah, alright.  For me!" she answered and went straight for a scissors to open it up.  "Is it clothes?" she asked, carefully peeling off some stickers then ripping off the address label and throwing it in the garbage.

 

"Well, I don't think so.  It's an envelope," I answered.

She reached in and pulled out shirt.  "See!  Dress!  Just like My Grace."  She reached in again and pulled out a drawing Grace had done for school that read, I went to Minnesota and met my second cusin.  Back into the envelope again, this time producing a letter from Grace, Dear Sophie, I miss you very much. How are you doing? Love, Grace.


Sophie put on her new Grace shirt, hung the art of the refrigerator and stared at her letter.  I pulled out a note from Jenine and decided that maybe our girls WERE telepathically connected.  They miss each other, now have the exact same shirt, and somehow Sophie knew that Grace didn't like the address labels that Jenine had so carelessly applied to the envelope.


Jenine and I both love things like letters and drawings and packages, I think this is a nice thing to share with our girls.  And at some point, if the girls decide to end the lifelong penpal-ship that Jenine and I both probably envision, then we'll just take over where the girls leave off.