Member-only story
Dear Writer
Letter to Me
From Me, Myself and I
Dear Nancy Jane or Thomas Oscar,
You will arrive as a big surprise! 9 lbs 8 ounces. Don’t worry Mom will be fine. She won’t even believe that you are you- her girl at long last. You are pregnancy number 12. Sadly, some of your sibs never left this place — but oh the places you will go!
You are in for a long loopy train ride with double backs, slow hauls up steep inclines and sudden drops that feel like free falls. You see almost all 50 states and 4 continents.
First stop, Virginia. The iron-rich red clay will seep into your blood, may even be part of your DNA to start. From your Mom’s side of the family tree, you are FFV, the first family of the sovereign colony of Virginia. The gentle hills will shape your soul and no other landscape will suffice for your eyes.
Next stop, Costa Rica. You’ve barely learned the language of home when everything becomes a new sound. You pick up this new language quickly. Mom and Dad do not — you can’t even talk to them. I’m afraid that does not change. You love them with all your being-but you never are able to talk to them about what matters most. You build an unbreakable bond with your five brothers-yes there is one more brother to come! They will always speak “Carolyn.”