The Letter
I found my son Michael working feverishly on a drawing yesterday. He said it was a special drawing for his friend at school. I didn’t think much of it until I noticed that he had gone through several sheets of paper. I watched him out of the corner of my eye until he finally settled on one that he liked. Proudly he showed it to me, I didn’t have the foggiest idea what it was, but I said, “Wow! That’s wonderful!”
He asked me for an envelope, so I went to the stash of junk mail envelopes we keep around for the children to use when they pretend mail. With great care it went into the envelope and after he licked it shut he carefully spelled out the name “Madison” with a combination of forwards and backwards letters on the front and covered the back with some of his favorite stickers. Now it was starting to make sense. This was a letter to a girl.
This morning, before school, he kept telling me not to forget the letter. He packed it in his knapsack, took it out and packed it again. This was a serious undertaking for such a small kid. When we got to school he told me what classroom she was in. I took the other kids to their classrooms and then Michael and I went back to hers to see if she was there.
“My son has a letter for someone in your classroom,” I told the teacher.
She let us in and I asked which one she was. He immediately pointed to the cutest little girl you ever saw, standing at the far side of the room. I thought, “He has good taste in girls.”
I said, “Go ahead, give her your letter.” He wouldn’t budge. I asked, “What’s the matter?”
“I’m scared,” he said.
“You’re not scared, Madison is your friend.” I pushed him forward and the teachers and I watched him slowly walk across to her. About half way she saw him coming and just stood there looking confused as he came close. He looked at the floor as he offered her the letter. She took it, looked it over and said so that everyone could hear, “For me?”
Beaming she reached out, pulled him in close with a big hug and said, “Thank you!”
When he turned around to come back he was just staring up in the air with the king of all grins across his face, walking with a kind of loose, rubbery gait. He was hooked. He didn’t even look back as we left the room. I asked if he was going to write her any more cards and he quickly nodded his head yes.
After school I didn’t have to ask him how his day went. He still had a stupid smile on his face.
That is a truly great story. I’m happy Madison was as happy to receive the note. You just never know how they’re going to react. I do know the grin of which you speak. I recall having one of my own in days gone by.
I wish I was Madison!!!
If only life was always as easy as it was in pre-school. Adorable, thanks for sharing.
That is so lovely. How old is he? Rosemary has a different best friend every day, though she still only does cards and letters for special people, like grandparents.
Michael is about 4 1/2 years old.
Awwwwwww sweet.
That is such a lovely story. Well done Madison for such a good response.