A letter to my littlest siblings

McKenna Snow
MSMU Class of 2023

(10/2022) Dear 3 littlest siblings of mine, how are you? How is home? I told you I would write you a one-thousand-word letter! Here it is for you to read together. My school is going well. I am taking 5 classes this semester, and am working on an Honors project that is practically a class all on its own. How many classes does that make? (It’s 5 +1, if the six-year-old wants to try to figure that out).

How is the weather at home? It is raining here as I write this. I am currently listening to Mozart on the violin and piano. What books have you been reading? I have had to read a lot of the Bible for one of my classes, so that makes me very happy.

I will fill you in on what I have been up to over the weekend, as today is Monday. This weekend, I got to see our older brother! He came to the Mount and we got to go out to dinner. We went to a sushi restaurant and I got chicken, noodles, and green tea. On Saturday, I went out all day with Women’s Fellowship. We went to a beach in the mountains—it was connected to a lake, not an ocean—and we played cards there. Some girls also played volleyball. We had sandwiches for lunch, and then we hiked to these beautiful waterfalls. You had to climb up a lot of massive rocks to get to the waterfalls area, but it was worth it. It was great to get to spend time with other girls my age, and have a very relaxing Sunday the next day. I sadly came down with a cold the next day, but that ensured that I took the day very slowly, and that I took a nap…

It is okay to take a few days to write a letter. Now as I write this part, it is Tuesday. Let me tell you how beautiful the weather is today! It is not raining like it was yesterday—quite the opposite. I sat outside all morning in the shade to read for class. I brought a medium hot coffee, my book, and a highlighter with me, and that was all I needed. Outside felt so nice: the air was cool, the breeze was soft, and the sky was a perfect blue. Some rainwater was left over on the benches around me, though, but that wasn’t a bad thing. As I was reading, I witnessed a squirrel jump onto a bench and drink from the rain water. In little ways like this, it is evident that God is very good at always providing for all His creatures.

After class, I got lunch with my friend, Lyla. Guess what! She brought me a little gift. She bought me Dunkin’ Donuts Pumpkin Spice Goldfish Grahams. They are delicious, and they make me excited for fall. It was a very sweet gift to receive from her. What gifts have you given to each other recently? It is a good habit to be in, to give gifts every now and then, even if there is no particular reason for it. Tuesdays can be a special occasion, too.

As I write this part of the letter, I am sitting in the library. I have a lot of homework to do today, so I will likely have to pause writing again and pick it back up tomorrow. That is one of the nice things about informal, thoughtful letters: no one has a due date for you, no expiration date, no "too late" sort of timeline. You can write a letter whenever, at whatever pace works for you, in whatever length you want (1,000 words is a little longer than most people would normally write)…

And here we are. It is Wednesday, and this will be the last time I write for this letter, because I think it’s almost long enough and I’m sure I’ve asked enough questions for you that you don’t want anything else to have to respond to.

But writing letters isn’t a chore—it is a gift. We are blessed to have postal systems that allow for sending letters to one another, even if we’re hundreds or even thousands of miles apart. And there is something very special about letters, wouldn’t you say? They are better than text messages. With letters, you get something real, physical, something the other person had to hold with their own hands in order to send it to you. We can’t hold text messages. And, you can’t see a person’s handwriting in text messages. In letter-writing, you get to see that person’s unique handwriting style, almost like a piece of their personality expressed in written word. What kind of handwriting do you have? How does it differ from your sister’s, or your brother’s?

A person’s handwriting gives away what sort of care the letter was written with, too. Does your handwriting look better when you write quickly, or when you write slowly? How much thought are you putting into each word you write? Hand-writing things requires a lot of intentionality and deliberation, because we get tired when we’ve written for a while. Thus, the words we pick are important, because we only have so much space to write in. What you say matters, even if it is just a letter telling the other person about your day.

Letter-writing doesn’t seem as popular these days, have you ever thought about that? People like to send text messages. Those are fine, but they are indicative of a culture of busyness, and even laziness. Letter-writing takes care and preparation. You have to pick out the paper, or card, and the envelope, and the stamp it will have. But, as a result, what a great gift letters make! So much thought and love goes into even just one postcard.

Letters are a special thing, and that’s why I look forward to receiving a letter from you in response to this one. I love your little drawings, the stickers you put on the page, and getting to read in your handwriting. I love hearing about your day, too. Alright, I will be home soon to give you all lots of hugs! I miss you!

Love, Kenna.