Of the Nanas and the Papas

Dear Sonia,

You should know about your Nana and Papa. Since there's way too much to say about each of them, I'm going to give them each their own post. Let's begin with Nana. That's her hand in the photo, telling someone to wait a minute while she was telling a story in Vermont this past winter.

Oh niece of mine, you are lucky in so many ways! You have a fantastic Nana. She has waited a lot longer than she thought she would to get a grandchild, so she's pretty happy you are here!

Things to love about your Nana:
- she's fun! - she always has an adventure (your mom, Uncle S. and I used to go on "Mummy Adventures" all the time with her) - if you're bored, she'll give you a dustcloth and make you do the dining room, so never say you're bored - if you ask for a creative project, you'll get to do all kinds of stuff! - she's a reader, she'll always read you a book or tell you a great book to read or take you to the library (she's why your mom and I are such amazing readers, too) - she's noisy! - she will teach you how to buy great stuff at a yardsale - she'll teach you how to find a bargain at Marshall's, TJMaxx and a million other places (although, your parents are quite the bargain hunters themselves!) - she can cook! - she throws a great party in the backyard in Chelmsford - she buys great presents - she really really loves all of us.

Nana is the subject of legendary stories. Like the time I was a little baby (your mom wasn't even born yet) and she bundled me up, put me in my car seat, got in the car and drove right through the garage door without putting it up! Or the time she threw up in Papa's glove compartment in his Corvette! Or the time she was mowing the lawn and went right over a hornet's nest and got stung a million times!

Best of all, your Nana listens. She puts herself second and she hunkers down to listen to your big, long, sometimes happy, sometimes woeful story about whatever is going on with you. She doesn't claim to have all the answers (or even one answer sometimes) but she will take the time to listen to you. You can tell her anything. I'm serious. She is my mom, and I told her things that most normal kids never tell their moms. As your Nana, you have even more leeway on that.

I know you live pretty far from Nana, but I don't think that's going to matter all that much. There's planes and Skype and all kinds of ways to make sure that you get to spend great time with her. And you know what? The post office is underrated. Everyone should write more letters (spoken by your Auntie K, who is writing you a blog!).

Enjoy your Nana this next week or so while she's there with you. Of course, you won't remember that she was there from age 1 day - 2 weeks, but she will!

Love,

Auntie K.