Letters to Persephone

Dear Persephone, You are fifty-five months old today. In the past month you rode out your first hurricane. When we decided to stay in place for Isaac, my main worry was that you might have some sort of traumatic experience. We had an interesting talk about about the many faces of Gaia. But the only […]

Dear Persephone, You are four and half years old today. We have continued our tradition, now well-established, of giving away stuff for your half-birthday. This year you didn’t need any explanation; you’ve absorbed the concept from years past. Over the last few weeks you’ve been selecting from amongst your possessions. You filled up a bag, […]

Dear Persephone, You are fifty-three months old today. Yesterday, technically, but cut me some slack. After our long summer vacation, I finally understand what people mean when they talk about children being “spoiled rotten” by their grandparents. Actually that’s not fair to your grandparents. They are indulgent (I’m looking at you, Susie) but I can’t […]

Dear Persephone, You are now fifty-two months old. Our family vacation hasn’t allowed much time to sit and write, so in addition to being late, this letter will be abbreviated. One highlight of the past month was your dance recital. Since we live in New Orleans, this was a major outdoor party with food and […]

Dear Persephone, You are fifty-one months old today. It feels like it’s been an epic month in your life. But aren’t they all epic at your age? And in this city? Two big things: You finished your first year of school, and you got into a new school for the fall. For the past year […]

Dear Persephone, You are fifty months old today. To celebrate we counted to fifty together. The month got off to a rough start. You had a couple severe meltdowns while playing with friends. You’ve not had big issues with sharing before, so hopefully that was just a phase. We read A Little Princess by Frances […]

Dear Persephone, You are forty-nine months old today. I thought after your fourth birthday you might slow down, but no. You continue to develop at an astonishing rate. A few weeks ago you drew your first real representational drawing. As a would-be cartoonist and visual artist, I consider this a huge milestone. I know I […]

Dear Persephone, You are four years old today. So: Happy Birthday! But also: Happy Mardi Gras! The last time Mardi Gras fell on the 21st of February was in 1950, which was not only before you were born but well before I was born. These dates will line up again in eleven years, for your […]

Dear Persephone, You are forty-seven months old today. A few weeks ago I mentioned to you that I was writing these letters, and you were intrigued. What are they about, you wanted to know. I told you that, in part, I try to record some of the things that you’re doing so that you’ll be […]

Dear Persephone, It’s the holiday season. But and also (to paraphrase David Foster Wallace) you are 46 months old today. On this night, the longest night of the year, you are fully expecting Santa to pay us a visit. Santa is tricky for me, as a parent. He reveals certain weaknesses in my ontology. How […]

Dear Persephone, You are forty-five months old today. It seems like you’ve packed a lot of living into the last month. Especially around the holiday: We had fun making simple skull garlands out of paper and decorating the house. You had a blast on your first real round of trick-or-treating. (Afterward you wanted to wait […]

Dear Persephone, You are forty-four months old today. I am forty-four years old. I guess that means I’m roughly twelve times as old as you. Your big dramatic moment of the last month came when you locked yourself in the bathroom. It was on a Saturday morning. You went into the bathroom, insisting that you […]

Dear Persephone, You are forty-three months old today. You’ve just completed your first full month of school. Every day you are coming home full of songs and dances, art and ideas. You learned a new favorite phrase there too: “Everyone makes mistakes; that’s how they learn.” I had to point out that your mother learns […]

Dear Persephone, You are three and a half years old today. Last year, on your half-birthday, I cajoled you into giving away two of your toys to Goodwill. I thought we should revisit that concept, so I showed you some photos from back then which I hoped would serve to get you in the spirit. […]

Dear Persephone, You are forty-one months old today. You are developing into an amazing person. Here are some indications. Your favorite phrase over the last month is, “I changed my mind.” For example, after much deliberation, you changed your mind about your favorite colors. For at least a year, you’ve maintained that your favorite colors […]

Dear Persephone, I meant to take notes on all the crazy things you’ve said over the last few weeks. But time got away from me. I remember you said “Trust me!” when we were playing Alphabet Farm. I wrote it down, because it seemed remarkable, but now I can’t remember anything more about it, except […]

Dear Persephone, We’ve been counting down your last days of “school.” I’ve been taking you to daycare starting when you were five months old. The morning time has been our special time together. Since you don’t have to be there at any specific time, and my workday is usually flexible, we’ve had the luxury of […]

Dear Persephone, You’re thirty-eight months old today. I knew this month was off to a good start when you told me your own version of an old knock knock joke. It was the old “orange you glad” joke which I’d told you a month or two before. An old friend from college had reminded me […]

Dear Persephone, Thanks for sharing a wonderful Equinox with us yesterday. We decorated eggs and had an egg hunt and watered your tree (which we planted on the last vernal equinox) and went on a nature walk and you even put on some bunny ears (sent in the mail by your grandmother) and hopped around […]

Dear Persephone, You are three years old today. I just realized that your birthday is exactly five weeks after mine. That means when my birthday falls on Martin Luther King Day, yours falls on Presidents’ Day. I guess that will occur about every seven years or so. One year ago, I was impressed by your […]

Category: Letters to Persephone

Fifty-Five Months

Four and a Half

Fifty-Three Months

Fifty-Two Months

Fifty-One Months

Fifty Months

Forty-Nine Months

Four Years

Forty-Seven Months

Forty-Six Months

Forty-Five Months

Forty-Four Months

Forty-Three Months

Three and a Half

Forty-One Months

Forty Months

Thirty-Nine Months

Thirty-Eight Months

Thirty-Seven Months

Three Years