Dear Marianne Moon,
Welcome to the wonderful world of trees and vines, flowers and fungi, caterpillars, birds and butterflies, dogs and cats! We feel so lucky that you have joined us in this world!
I am your Grandmother Moffett. Your mother Rosalie and I have shared many experiences of gardening and cooking and have been blessed with a closeness that binds a lucky mother and daughter. This is a treasure that runs in the family, because I was very close to my own mother, Frances Sweeney Brandon, and she was close to her mother, Eustashia Ellis Sweeney. My mother and I created fun times and laughed hard and hugged closely, and loved, loved, loved.
From my mother I learned about what her life was like growing up. Her very happy childhood that reached back to a time when life centered around gardens, milk cows, and horses rather than stores, cars or airplanes; when plumbing meant having a well and outhouse, and when there were many obstacles to realizing dreams, if you were female. Mother never got to join a circus or dance professionally, but she was determined to pursue her dream of teaching and sharing art, music and language and her love of nature with her classes, and of course, also with her children. My father loved growing things and carving wood sculptures, and together he and my mother made a wonderful world for me to grow up in, full of magic and challenges as well as security, and offering me almost unlimited opportunities. Always, there was art and music, drama and books, poetry and flowers, and of course, dogs. My mother said, “I never met a dog I couldn’t love.”
For many years after I went off to graduate school, my mother and I lived in different places, sometimes far across the country from each other, but we stayed in close communication by writing letters. This started long before the internet made sharing pictures and messaging possible. Your grandfather Moffett, my husband David, thought that my mother and I could communicate by telepathy, because we were “on the same wavelength” and seemed to anticipate each other’s responses.
When David and I began to have children, we first got two boys, your Uncle Howell and Uncle Benjamin. Two children is a standard family for people concerned with the impact of overpopulation on the environment, but we loved having children and decided that we would have a third child, knowing that we might get another boy or a girl – either would be welcome, as we were so loved our two boys and they were as different as could be, so another boy would have been fine – but we were delighted when we learned that we would have a daughter, your mother, Rosalie. This allowed the close bonds between mother and daughter to be added to the family tradition.
Marianne, like your mother and father, you were born into a household that wanted you very much, and across the country from you, your cousin Octavia was born to your Uncle Howell and Aunt Melinda. I hope that you and Octavia can share adventures and get to know one another well, and I hope that both of you will form close bonds with your mother and father. When people are young, they don’t know how important family ties are. They more important than people realize until they are older, so it is important to understand this and build strong ties with your family while you are young. These will be your support system in the challenges that life is sure to send your way. Best wishes and lots of love,
Grandmama Moffett
Quality of Life in Wawawai Canyon 