letter to some new friends

dear small boys,

i am writing this to you now although you are not yet here. well, maybe by the time i get it written you will be. that’s okay. you’ll be very busy at first and will need lots of rest so i’m not expecting you to read this right away. first off, welcome. there are plenty of folks who are glad you're here right along with me.

i figured folks new in town might need some warm duds so i’m sending you some things i made. i wasn’t sure about your favorite colors and your mom was a lot less help than i thought she’d be on that account, so i winged it. there’s a box on the way with some little brown hats sort of like acorn caps. at least, that’s what i think when i look at them. your mom mentioned you like monkeys and i suppose they look a little like monkeys, too. i think if you make silly monkey sounds while you wear them, that would be pretty funny and nobody will tell you not to.

there’s a pair of pants for each of you. they’re sort of like sweat pants or pajama pants, nothing fancy. just good for lounging around. for the first few months, if anyone tells you to do anything other than lounge around, tell them no. if they bug you about it, send them to me.

your mom asked about some legwarmerish things and i want you to know it was her idea for you to look like flashdance and fame, not mine. but i made some anyway and i have to say they were a hoot to make. still, you’d think a woman with such particular ideas about legwarmers would know the favorite colors of her babies. she does have a lot on her mind right now, though, and i suppose we will all cut her a little slack.

there’s some other stuff i want to tell you, some about the greater syracuse area and some about those parents of yours. let’s start with syracuse. as far as i know, i’m the only non-native who gets homesick for the place. this is because other people are fools. there is plenty there to love no matter what you hear from grumblers. you have the oldest dead lake in north america (possibly full of mutant carp) right by the mall and then two meromictic lakes right next to each other. if you walk along the trail around that big one to where there are pine trees and then look down into the water, you will see a blue so far beyond words you will only be able to stare at it. those lakes are so content they don’t ever turn over. you’ll learn about that later in science. the erie canal comes through that way and you can walk along the towpath in some places. there are songs to sing when you do that and at least once you should pretend to be a mule. clop clop clop. there are drumlins, long hills all going the same direction, gouged out by the fingers of real, live glaciers and good for sledding and rolling down. out past town a little is a waterfall that’s like a glittering ribbon twisting in the wind. there is a water tower to climb when you’re older, but don’t tell your parents i told you about it. over by the campus is a park full of roses and a big stone amphitheater. you will want to stand on the stage there and yell really loud. you can ride an old erie lackawanna railroad car if you want and there are plenty of lilacs around. in fact, syracuse (maybe because of the winter thing there) goes all out in spring and you might get a little nervous at the shift in color from whitish gray and grayish white to all the colors. every single inch of ground blooms in spring.

but i think your parents are what you’ll love most about that place. they are smart and funny and they have some animal brothers and sisters for you to play with because they know what’s what. i know at first when you come out you’ll be a little bit scared. you’ve been in the quiet and in the dark for a long time and it will be noisy and bright and probably a little cold (remember those hats), but you will not feel that way for long. i am sure of that. you know, back when i was a lot like you will be when you first get out, not very good at dressing myself, prone to fits of crying, unable to communicate clearly and generally helpless, i lived with them. that’s right. your parents. back when they were way too young to have any small children yet they had me around. we had some roses and peonies in the yard, a fire in the fireplace and a big round chair like a nest. and they took very good care of me, made me feel safe and loved and even like i was good at telling jokes. okay, maybe that last one is an imagined thing on my part. i’m not such a good joke teller, really. but what i’m trying to tell you is that you will love them so much you will not know what to do sometimes. you will. i know it. because they have had practice keeping an eye on wildness. they are already good at this. you’ve got nothing to worry about.

much love to you both,
me