Birthday Letter To Our Grandson


Wow! You are a thir-“teen”. What does that mean? Well, for one thing, it means that you will be a “teen” for the next seven years. In that period you will be given a spectacular education, you will enter a college, you will choose many new friends, some of which you will have for the rest of your life, you will also gain new interests like hobbies and sports and you may even start to see what you want to be for the rest of your life. All of these things require hard work, good choices and yes the ability to face a few difficulties that you will require courage to overcome. You will meet all these challenges because you have talent, a wonderful mind, and clearly know the difference between what is right and what is wrong.

You are surrounded by people who love you and want the best for you. That’s great, but it still comes down to you. You need to do the hard work. You need to make the right choices in friends or when temptations come your way. There are obvious temptations like drinking, dishonesty, lying, cheating at school and destructive things like smoking or driving dangerously to show off.

There are also more subtle dangers like forming friendships with people who may cause you to mess up. They may look like friends, and they may be fun to be with, but you will soon recognize that they are not really friends and are using you. When you find this out you have to force yourself to get away from them rather than continuing the association and getting into serious trouble. Sometimes those of us who love you, especially your mother, will point out these bad associations. This may make you mad, but at least listen and ask yourself if there is any truth in the what you are told. Moving away from bad companions can be very hard sometimes.

Mostly though the “teens” will be a great time. Your knowledge of everything will increase tremendously. You will actually begin to love learning new things even when they seem hard initially. You will learn to drive and gain the wonderful freedom that a car provides. Your body will convert to its adult form. You will be even more interested in girls You will like them and they will like you. This is all normal and great fun. You are lucky to have a great and strong body. Don’t get egotistical, but you are bound to be handsome and are a natural athlete for sports like golf, tennis, running and many others. You have a great personality, are a natural born speaker and have the gift of musical talent. You have the whole package.

You will also have wonderful social times and fun parties. As a catholic you will have people all over the world who share your values and when you meet them, even if they are total strangers, you will have a bond with them. That’s a nice feeling that your religion will give you all your life. So, get ready for a long fun time. A time that is exciting and has lots of responsibilities.

We are so proud of you and know you will make the best of your “teens”. We love you.

Grandma and Grandpa