If you knew Peg, you likely knew her letters.

she was the most incredible pen pal. always sending me birthday and holiday greetings, but also all the in between stuff too - how is your semester going? i’ve just seen the most incredible concert! i thought you’d appreciate this newspaper clipping! how are your kitties? (or pussycats, as she always called them). my favorite were the selfies taken on a disposable camera, held with two hands, taken in front of one of my gramp’s oil paintings.

i always lived a state or two away from my grandma, but those letters made the distance seem insignificant. her words were hugs, her questions were listening ears. and i always wrote back. stuffing photos from a recent trip, art show, or new kitten, into envelopes, knowing she’d add them to the photo album she carried around in her purse - eager to show anyone who would listen.

but the letter writing didn’t start with her. when peg’s mother left ireland for a new life in america, she wrote ferociously to her sister, missing her homeland and everything she’d known. when those sisters had children, both named Margaret (Peg), a new generation of pen pals grew.

because of those letters, our connection with our irish relatives held steady. three generations of cousins, connected through writing. i’ll admit the handwritten letters are infrequent, because modern technology makes it so much easier to send a quick message or silly snapchat. but it’s all thanks to those letters.

this spring i got to bring my fiancé across the pond to meet the family. while there i got a small tribute to Peg, and it felt right to get a line from one of her letters, signed in her pristine cursive writing. and to get it in ireland, the place connected through writing. all the love in the world - that’s what she had for me, and what i hope to share with my future kids and grandkids.

i think about her a lot during the holidays, as her card was always the first to arrive. the letters may have stopped coming, but her words will always be by my side ♥️