Sealed envelope says " For Peggy -To be opened on July 4, 2026"
July 4, 2009
My Dear Peggy:
I am writing this letter to you on the occasion of your fifth birthday! I don't know where the time flies off to because it seems like only yesterday that I was holding you in my arms and feeling blessed to have such a sweet little new baby granddaughter. What a cutie you were, and are, and will always be to me.
But the years do go by quickly and so I wanted to take this joyful birthday occasion and write something for you to read on that future 21st birthday when you will have officially arrived at a momentous day and your new adult life begins in full.
Mainly, I wanted you to know all of the love and affection that is in my heart for you and that my most fervent hope as I write this letter is that on your 21st birthday – TODAY as you read this! – you will have lost none of your obviously great curiosity for life around you and that your childlike wonder at what marvels are to be found in this world will never leave you, even when you grow as old I am! To stay forever young is the greatest blessing one can have in life and it is for each of us to simply determine that it shall be so. I can be pretty certain that as you read this you have true character and personality, not only because you already do now at age five, but also because your parents both possess such firm qualities in both of these departments that you could not possibly escape without becoming someone quite interesting and worthwhile in your own right.
Peggy, I wanted to be sure to pass along one little bit of advice as you now go forth from your 21st birthday to engage the world with your winning smile and brilliant mind. Don't worry, nothing too heavy-handed here, just my encouragement for you to always remember that the love and kindness you will receive in life will always be measured in direct proportion to the amount that you freely give to those around you. Of course, the difficult part is that not all of them deserve it, or at least not all the time, but you must strive to overlook the "deserve" portion and concentrate on the value that giving love so easily can have for you at the end of the day.
If you could know the love I hold in my heart for you as I write these words, you would surely understand that you have already have a great storehouse of love with which to now begin your new life and love for those around you!
Happy 21st Birthday, my sweet granddaughter. I pray all of your birthdays will always bring you joy and hope!
- Grandma