Long Lost Kindergarten friends...reunited through the Old and New

Friends...Reunited!

This is a story about two little girls who met in a Kindergarten class in  South County , St. Louis, Missouri...long, long, ago.  The two little girls became best friends, and did what little girls years ago did.  We had slumber parties, and played together at recess.  Memories are fading.  I have often thought of my "Bestie" from Kindergarten, but never really heard what had happened to her.  UNTIL...Facebook reunited us! About 6 months ago, Ruth sent a short message...hoping I was who she thought  I was. (I don't list my maiden name on my profile, however,  I might change that now! But my twin sister does list it, so I am assuming that she traced me through my twin sister.).  We had exchanged several messages over Facebook which was nice, but I decided it was time to send Ruth a letter and have a little deeper communication.  Many thanks to Facebook for the reuniting...Yay for Technology...but  a slower, deeper  exchange needed to happen.  There were lots of years to piece together.

The story continues:

Being an identical twin (see Twin Adventures post), and we happened to be in the same Kindergarten class as Ruth.  Unknown to me at the time, our teacher, the beloved Mrs Van Reese was Ruth's God Mother and next door neighbor.  Ah ha!  That gave her a distinctive edge in the class! ;-) Ruth remembers the first time she saw "the twins".  I don't have too many memories, just a few.  

I couldn't put my hand on my Kindergarten photo...if I can find it, I will upload it too.  But here we are... uhhh...that is me on the right in the Twin picture.  

Well, as normal...these fast friends grew up, and we progressed through  early elementary , I think we were in at least one  other class together.  But then she moved away in 3rd grade and in 4th grade my family moved to Japan.  Ruth tells me that we did send a few pen pal letters.  I sent her a necklace, and  a Japanese cushion.  But that is where everything...fades!  What happened over the years?

Remember this?  I actually sent this accordion letter to her!  I included , a bunch of  typical penpal prompts in this letter,  I wasn't sure how she would respond to this, it is very snail-mailish...and for people who are not in the habit of writing...it might seem a bit strange!

But my, oh , my!  Look what I got in the mail from Ruth!  I'm sorry for the torn paper...I couldn't help myself...I just had to tear into it! ;-)

Ruth stated that she wasn't too crafty, so she enlisted a friend who helped her with this.  I am blown away with the thoughtfulness...and just the fact that she would even get a friend to help her. Honestly, I never dreamed of receiving something like this!

.  

Look at this gorgeous box...loaded with scenes of far away travel!

This is what greeted me, upon opening this sweet box.  (I loved what was in the "Open this First" envelope!)

Each little owl envelope had answers to all of my pen pal questions...and a beautifully type written letter, telling me all about her life after our girlhood memories had faded and our lives took very different directions.  This is my treasure.  She had to overcome many obstacles and  endured many hardships growing up.  But these things made her the beautiful woman she is today.   I am greatly inspired.

The pillow boxes contained goodies...some delicious tea...  And the scrolled paper, detailed her interests in Family Genealogy!

There was also this mysteriously wrapped gift...

 How  gorgeous is this?  This is a mason jar soup mix, with that cute little bottle of Tabasco sauce!  I can't wait to cook it up. Yum!

So much love and thoughtfulness boxed up...with so many unanswered questions...finally answered.

What a blessing to be reconnected with a very old friend, reaching back into the corners of my mind.  I am so thrilled to be able to stay in touch by ...using the new...and especially the old ways of communicating.

Write Letters,

Write Often!

Lady Pamela 

How it all began...

They came regularly, almost weekly. My dear mother's letters. There was always the familiar script on the envelope and usually a nice puffy, fat letter.(Someone once told me that letters should be like babies....chubby and fat!) Upon opening the letter , a newspaper or magazine clipping might flutter to the floor, in general, it would be something particularly relevant just for me! Regardless of what else they might contain, they were sure to be
full of sweet, homey news. How many of those letters went unanswered, I really can not say, but I know that eventually they started to come with decreasing frequency. It was almost like a slow, painful death. But life was too fast and complicated , or so I thought. Marriage, babies, homeschooling, more babies, cell phones, email, texting,more babies, occasional snatches of lunch out with a girl friends...but to sit down and to respond thoughtfully to a letter was...well...almost the last thing that I thought I could handle mentally. And then after expending what little mental energy I possessed, my letters were long (ok, chalk up one positive, I spent some time on them,) but they were also unbelievably , incredibly boring! I would think to myself..."I would hate to receive one of these! Why, I could have talked to my mother on the phone and given her the contents of my letter without nearly so much exhausting effort!" And so I did. And so my letter writing career dribbled to a drop and then dried up. I convinced myself that it just wasn't worth it!


UNTIL the night of March 1st, 2009. My daughter and I were caught in a rare Virginia blizzard, coming home from a cancelled concert in which she was to have performed. A drive that would ordinarily have taken 40 minutes...took well over two hours. It was a miracle that we ever arrived home intact. It was an adventure that I will always treasure...the two feet of snow, driving through the perilous night. We were so thankful to be home, yes the power was out, but we were home...safe, snug ,and warm! It was then I felt an overwhelming desire to connect with someone...anyone and share these feelings I was experiencing. I felt creative, whimsical, and a very strong Jane Austen"ish" wit was flowing through my veins!! I could not ignore this desire. I was able to heat my tea kettle over a emergency canned flame and made myself a teapot of hot tea, I perused my china hutch for just the right bone china tea cup,  Now I was ready to sit down at the  table of my cozy, country kitchen. I ran up to my bedroom and found what suitable writing paper I could muster and secured an ink pen ...and then---wait! I felt a chill! I ran back and got my  vintage crocheted shawl.
Ahhhh....I now felt ready to "bear my soul"! I have never felt more inspired, nor had such an enjoyable time with penning that little feeble missive! What delight I felt as I rendered myself completely to the sensation of crafting a simple personal letter.

The leaves of the calendar have flitted by since that moment in time. I have been privileged to write many such epistles and I have learned much of the art of a hand written letter. My letter writing companions are many and they are all passion and fire as they respond post haste to my missives,in rapid fire succession! They possess greater wit, humor and a grander flourish than I, but I have been slowly learning and am constantly inspired. The simple letter is indeed a "literary form"!

I suppose the greatest blessing has been for me to reconnect with my mother in a more meaningful and purposeful way . Letter writing has taken me beyond the phone calls to a more intimate conversation. I am now the one sending the fat letters stuffed with clippings or pressed flowers along with my feeble attempt at humor and wit. How long has it been since you sat down to write a real letter. Share yourself with pen and ink with someone today...you won't regret it