Dear Gracie

Dear Grandma,

I wanted a hiar band and a Bardie doll for Christmas, but I got something better. Santa Claus gave me a kittin. He is grey and white. I have called him Patches. Thank you for the coloring pencils. I will draw you a picture of him,

Lots of love, Gracie

Dear Gracie,

Thank you for the picture of Patches. I have put it in a frame, and it is in the living room. I hope you are doing well at school and listening to your mother and father. It was so nice to have you here for a visit. I can’t believe how fast you are growing up,

Love, Grandma

Dear Grandma,

I am now in sixth grade. Here is my school picture for this year. I just started violin lessons. Patches runs away when he hears me play! Mom says I sound like another cat and makes me go on the back porch to practice. I don’t mind because Mom and Dad keep arguing and that makes my stomach hurt. When I play the violin, I can’t hear them. My friend Lindy doesn’t want to talk to me as much. She keeps spending time with this new girl called Emma. I think it is because Emma has a swimming pool at her house. So, I am quite sad some of the time. Mom said you are having trouble with ather something. What does she mean? Are you okay? Also, could you text me? It is hard work to write these letters 😊

Love, Gracie

Dear Gracie,

I know it hurts when people like Lindy treat you badly, but don’t let it get you down. Being sad sometimes is just part of life. Think of all the good things you have, like Patches. Mom might have been talking about my arthritis. It is something that happens when people get older. My knees are creaky these days, so I am slower than I used to be. My fingers are stiff too and I can’t see very well, so I don’t think I could text. I was amazed to see how fast your thumbs can move on your phone! I hope you will still write or type your letters to me. Letters are special because you can keep them and read them again and again. I know you can read texts too, but somehow it is not the same. I am so looking forward to your visit this summer. You are such a grown girl to be flying all this way on your own. In my day you would have had to come in a horse and carriage…wait, I am joking. I am not that old!

Love, Grandma

Dear Eleanor,

I try to mind my own business, but I am very worried about Gracie. She tells me you and Dan are arguing a lot and it really upsets her. You don’t have to tell me what’s going on, but please think of her,

Love, Mom

Dear Grandma,

Daddy is going to live in another house. He has a new girlfriend. Her name is Samantha, but Mom calls her the bimbo. Daddy took me out for pizza and ice cream the other day. The girlfriend came too and they kept making googly eyes at each other. It was gross. She wants me to call her Sammie, but I wouldn’t talk to her at all. Daddy got mad and said I was being rude and a brat and took me home early. Mom came out of the house to meet us and they started yelling at each other until I got so nervous that I threw up in the flower bed. The bimbo said that was disgusting and walked off with Daddy running after her. I hate everything,

Love, Gracie

Dear Gracie,

I am sorry the grown-ups in your life are behaving badly. None of this is your fault. You’ll be here soon, so hold on for a little while longer, 

Love, Grandma

Dear Mother,

Be careful what you wish for. You are welcome to have Gracie all summer. She walks out and slams doors whenever I try to talk to her. It’s not my fault that her father couldn’t keep his pants zipped when that little tramp started coming on to him in the office. Got to go now because I have an appointment with my lawyer. He says I should be getting a decent amount of alimony and child support. Details of her flight to follow,

Love, Eleanor

Dear Eleanor,

I am sorry that you hung up on me. I thought it would be better to communicate by letter before we both said things we regret over the phone. Gracie and Patches are safe. Before you blame me, I had nothing to do with Gracie changing her flight and getting here by herself. She has traveled often enough to know the procedure. Not surprisingly she was exhausted when she arrived and quite incoherent, so I packed her off to bed and she is sound asleep. I am impressed with her initiative, though I will not be telling her that. We will have a talk in the morning about how inconsiderate it was of her to frighten you and Dan. I hope a little time and space will benefit everyone,

Love, Mother

Dear Mom and Dad,

Grandma says I must apologize for running off like that. I did not mean to scare you. You are spending so much time fighting with each other that I did not think you would notice I was gone. Patches likes Grandma’s house because it’s so nice and quiet here,

Love, Gracie

Dear Eleanor,

Just a note to let you know that Gracie is doing well. My neighbor’s daughter has a riding stable, and Gracie is spending a lot of time there helping in return for riding lessons. I think that is as good as any therapist, but you must do as you think best when she returns. I have put strict limits on phone use and she has discovered that she actually likes reading books. She spends a lot of time in the hammock under the oak tree reading with Patches in her lap.

 I am sorry things did not work out with Dan. I always had reservations about him, but that’s water under the bridge and we must try to be civil for Gracie’s sake. My arthritis is acting up again, but Gracie is a wonderful help, and I must admit I enjoy Patches. I am sorry we didn’t let you get a kitten when you were young. I was worried about the furniture getting scratched and that seems so unimportant now,

Love, Mother

Dear Eleanor,

I am very glad that you and Dan put your differences aside long enough to come and see Gracie ride in the horse show. She was thrilled that you were there. At first, she thought it meant you were getting back together, but she agreed with me when I suggested it was better this way rather than you and her dad quarreling all the time. She is quite a mature young lady for her years. I will miss her very much, but it will be good for her to have more company of her own age. I hope you can find her a riding stable near home,

Love, Mother

Dear Mom,

I am looking forward to seeing you and Daddy next week. I have been hearing from some of my friends at school and I think it will be a good year. Even Lindy is trying to be nice, but I don’t trust her after the way she acted before. I am excited that I will be able to keep riding. Being with the horses is so cool, even the yucky part like cleaning the stalls! Grandma will not want me to tell you, but she has been having some dizzy spells and says her heart feels funny sometimes. She has been to the doctor and is taking some new medicine. I thought you should know,

Love, Gracie

Dear Grandma,

I hope you are well and enjoying having Patches for company. I think he is better off with you because I am so busy with the horses and with school. I spend alternate weekends with Mom and Dad and it’s working out okay. The bimbo is gone. Maybe I scared her off when I threw up that time, ha ha! It will be great to see you at Christmas,

Love, Gracie

Dear Diary,

I still can’t believe Grandma is gone. I knew something was wrong when she didn’t write back to me. Even though her handwriting was getting very squiggly and hard to read, I miss her letters. The doctor said it was a sudden cardiac event. Mom says that is a fancy way of saying she had a heart attack. Patches is back here with us. He is getting old too and spends most of his time sleeping. When we cleared Grandma’s house out, we found a leather writing case and a folder with every letter I ever wrote to her, starting in kindergarten. I am glad I kept hers too. Now I see what she means about letters being better than texts and email. She had bought some beautiful notepaper that she was going to give me for Christmas. I will use it, but only for very special people that I care about. She always said we should enjoy every moment as it comes because we never know what tomorrow will bring. It’s funny, but even writing this makes her seem close again. Till next time, Gracie