Another letter to my granddaughter.........

Dear little Missy.......

You have just turned three, and your Moregranny cannot imagine what life would be like without you in it. How can one small beautiful girl have such an amazing influence on so many people? You make me smile, sweetie. No - everyone smiles around you. Even when they are secret grins as you try to exert some independence and stomp the feet and refuse to co-operate, just like all 3 year olds do. Your Daddy was an expert in his time. So were your Auntie and Uncle.

I wondered, back then, the day you were born, if you would have red hair or blonde..... you have such lovely long blonde hair, with a golden tint to it in the sunlight. I could not have begun, back then, to visualise the little girl you have become, or yet, the woman you will one day be.

You sing, you dance, you have perfected some astonishing dance moves, and now I know that you are indeed a little girlie girl, who loves all things pink and pretty. Who climbs up when I am doing my make-up and asks me to put some on your beautiful little cheeks too. Your wrinkles have been dealt with now that I have smoothed a tiny blob of Oil of Olay anti wrinkle moisturiser on them, you will be happy to know. 7 effects of aging stuff. And your "lickstick" is perfect. As is the faint dusting of blusher on those little cheeks.

Nails? You love nail varnish. And jewellery. Bling. And bags. One can never have too many bags, it seems, and one can never carry too many at the same time, stuffed with all one's many treasures either. And your (imaginary) friends, Jessica and Baby (and a whole host of other ones too, whose names I forget, silly Moregranny) have a great deal of fun with you as you play in your princess tent with them. It can get a little crowded when Moregranny gets in the tent too, wearing a fairy costume around her neck. It is so sad that it doesn't fit properly. Moregranny is a little large for it.

You love cooking in your little kitchen, and oh my word, you are an excellent baker of wonderful cakes and muffins with your Mummy. You cook and clean and wash up and chatter all the time. Moregranny loves listening to the chatter. And you love to try to knit with me, by poking long sticks into the ball of wool. And pulling it out. From the middle. And winding it around those sticks. Moregranny really doesn't mind spending an hour or two unravelling the mess wool. I wonder if you will love knitting or crocheting when you are a little older. ....Maybe I can teach you how. Or your Granny can take care of the knitting part, and I will do the other things.

And yet you are also an outdoor girl, who loves climbing and sliding, and running and riding in your little red car. You "help" your Mummy garden and I am sure that one day soon you will learn which are weeds and which are plants. Remember how you loved eating the chives in my garden? You knew which plants were potatoes too, and the lettuce was an easy one to remember.

In just three short years, you have captured everyone's hearts, you see, and you have turned your Mummy and Daddy into parents. Their lives have been turned upside down, and they are so happy with the change it has brought. Gone are the days of organised and tidy homes. You have Things To Do and Games To Play, and Dollies To Dress ..... and drawing, and painting and gluing, and cutting, and building and jumping, and "verk" to do on the computer. And the walls echo with your laughter and squeals, and shrieks when you need to get changed. And the prams for those dollies, the scooter, the bike, the trolley and the other Stuff you love, vie for space, but no-one would trade it for a second, you see.

Why? Because you are loved.

Because we all know you need room to grow and flourish.

I have watched you learn to crawl, to walk, to run like the wind. Those beautiful eyes sparkle as you learn new things. You love your friends. You love your family. You love going to the Alps on a big aeroplane. What you don't know yet is just is just how much I have come to value things like skype, even if it meant that you thought Moregranny lived in the TV set. It has allowed me to see you - to watch you growing up when I can't be there in person. And we have little chats, don't we,  and you show me your new comic, or toy, or show me how your Dolly is eating her dinner.

Ah, little one, how I love you so.

What will the years to come bring? I sometimes think I see the essence of who you may be one day, and it makes me smile. You are my granddaughter. Just always know that to me you are perfect, just as you are. You are part of this family, and very very special.

With love
Moregranny