Dear Dad

Dear Dad,

I think of you often.  Just this month, I received a letter from your brother Aksel’s granddaughter in Norway.  It came via a circuitous route. Actually, it’s amazing that it reached me.  It was mailed to our old home where you and Mom brought us up and it was addresses to Gjertine, my dear sister who is gone now too. The letter languished in the Post Office’s saved mail while the current owners of our house were off on vacation.  When they returned and received the letter, rather than returning it to sender, they contacted a woman in the neighborhood who has my address and phone number.  She sent the letter to me.

When I opened it, I found that Heidi and her family had visited New York in October and were hoping to get together with us. I am so sorry I missed them and I’m going to write and tell them so. In the envelope was a picture that Aunt Henrietta had displayed on her bureau.  It was of you, Uncle Aksel, Gjertine and me on Uncle Aksel’s fishing boat.  Although I was only 8 years old then, I remember Mom snapping the picture.

I am hoping that someday I will return to Norway and visit with our family again. I am well as is everyone else. Still, after all these years, I miss you. I wish we could get together and drink coffee and discuss books and politics again.  It’s November and soon the holidays will be here and I will miss you and Mom and Gjertine even more.

I always think of you with love.

Your daughter,
Mary Catherine