We had the most delightful "letter"

in our letter box yesterday. I rescued it just as the wind was blowing everything in sight to the far end of the street.
I knew the postman had not been so an envelope in the letter box had to be advertising or a neighbour.
The couple across the road have grandchildren, two girls of four and three respectively. They are both bright but rather shy children. They also have lovely, traditional Irish names which almost nobody recognises. I have been flavour-of-the-day ever since I first met them because "you know my name!" I even knew how to spell them - but then I happen to be interested in names.
The four year old has just started "kindergarten" at "big school". It is her first year in the classroom and she is, after just over a week, thrilled to be there. Perhaps it helps that her "bestest" friend is also there.
It also helps that her grandmother, who has been one of those "day care" grandmothers, has done a lot to prepare her for school. They have "cooked" and "gardened" and thoroughly explored the environment on walks. There has been painting and play with all sorts of construction toys (bought second hand at sales and in charity shops) and there has been a lot of reading and, recently, there has been "writing".  Her parents and her grandmother did not push this. They did expect her to recognise her name but they waited for the reading and writing to come when she was ready. She can recognise all her letters. She knows some words. Just before Christmas she wrote her name on a thankyou card for me.
Yesterday there was a "letter". Wow! There was "Dear", there was the Senior Cat's name and my name and "this is for you" and "Love from" and her name. The letters wander across the page a bit and some of them are back to front but, so what? We have the first letter she has ever written to someone outside the family.
I have yet to see her. When I do I won't praise her to the skies. I am going to thank her and say how pleased we were that she took the time to write it.