BARBARA — DAY 13: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

40 notes to 40 people in 40 days

st-patricks-dayI’ve been sending handwritten notes and cards for almost two weeks. Today I’m using the St. Patrick’s holiday as inspiration and sending cards in bulk (if you can count four as “bulk”) to my little cousins. They are my pseudo nieces and nephews because my sister and brother don’t have any children.

These four — Emma, Mollie, Grant, Drew — are great joys in my life. They are full of energy, and my visits with them generally include activities such as soccer games, baking cookies, playing board games, and building things with Legos. We talk on FaceTime occasionally and this year I was diligent about sending each one of them a birthday card. Unfortunately, they don’t have birthdays during Lent! So, #LentChallenge cards for:

Emma — She was the most calm and content infant, and those traits are still evident at age 11. Emma is thoughtful, introspective, warm, and friendly. She loves to read about women leaders heroes.

Mollie — (Formerly Molly.) She has a mind of her own, exemplified by the self-directed change in the spelling of her name at age 7. She won’t smile for photos and is the owner of the iPod Touch that we use for our FaceTime chats. She is also my godchild.

Grant — This child is always in motion. He turns my husband into a human jungle gym when we visit. Always laughing, very outspoken, Grant is quite an athlete — leading his soccer team (for 6-year-olds) to several “victories” last fall (although they really keep score.

Drew — He’s the baby of the family and generally quite shy. But he’s learning that he needs to come out of his shell if he wants any attention among with three siblings around.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of you — and especially to Emma, Mollie, Grant, and Drew.