My letter to you for Aug. 4-10, 2013

Here is my letter to you from Aug. 10, 2013, just in case you do not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing today? I am doing fine, though I miss you like crazy!

I want to begin by letting you know that I was as disappointed as you were about not getting together Friday afternoon. I’d also like you to know that I wanted to get together and did not cancel our visit. I actually was driving to the center when I received the call that our visit had been cancelled. I have asked the center to set up a makeup visit, but whether or not we are able to do that is entirely up to the person who cancelled this visit. I love you very much and never would cancel or be late for one of our visits except in the direst of emergencies. If I were allowed to, I would see and talk to you every day.

In addition, I want you to know that your emails to me continue not to be sent. As of this writing, 31 days have passed since your last email was sent to me. That is very unfortunate, as I am now not aware of what you are doing even though I would like to know so we can talk about those things (and perhaps I even can participate in them in some way). I have never missed sending my weekly letter to you in the nearly 11 months since I have been allowed to write to you, and I never will miss a letter except in the direst of emergencies.

Hopefully we will get to see one another again very soon for our make-up visit, and hopefully I will begin receiving your emails during the next day or so. We are next scheduled to meet on Friday, Aug. 23, but there is no reason that we cannot have a makeup visit before then. I always will change my schedule to be there for you and to see you.

You must be getting very excited about a couple of big events that are coming up!

First, the Minnesota State Fair starts in just 12 days, on Aug. 22. It is a lot like the Los Angeles County Fair we used to go to in California, but I’d say the Minnesota State Fair is a wee bit better. When I was a little boy your age, I remember seeing the fair on television. One of the cool carnival rides the TV always showed was a big yellow slide, like what we used to go down on gunny sacks at Legoland and at the Poppy Festival in Lancaster. Hopefully the slide will be there again this year, and you’ll get to go down it!

The other big event is that you’re about to start first grade! I don’t remember much about my first day in first grade except that my friend Ron and I had to go through different doors into the school than we did during kindergarten. The kindergarten room was in a different section of the school than the first through sixth grade classrooms! My first grade teacher’s name was Mrs. Rhiel. Do you yet know the name of your first grade teacher? What day do you start school? Do you know which of your friends will be coming back to school with you this year?

I hope that you’ve been having a great summer and have gotten to go to lots of places in the Twin Cities. There are many fun things for kids to do in Minneapolis-St. Paul, from carnivals to museums and from sports to bookstores. I miss and love you very much and look forward to seeing you at our makeup visit!

Love,

Rob

 

My email to you for May 18, 2013

Here is my email to you for May 18, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing? I’m doing fine, although I miss you very much and wish we could spend every day together. The good news is that we get to see once another again in just six days, on the afternoon of Friday, May 24! I can’t wait to see you again!

I put together the Star Trek transporter Lego kit for us to play with when we get together. It’s really cool. One side is the transporter room. You can put your Lego guy on the transporter pad; when you press a button, a blue light flashes, and the pad spins around to the back side, which is a scene from the planet he just beamed down to! There are some more Star Trek Lego characters I can pick up at the toy store, so I will make sure that we have some of them to put together and play with on the transporter kit!

We used to have lots of great Lego kits to play with when we lived in California. A few were from Harry Potter, a couple form Pirates of the Caribbean, and most were from Star Wars. Not only were they fun to put together but to later incorporate into our playtime with all of the neat Lego figures we had. I still have most of the Lego figures and will make sure to get them out for you once we’re back together again.

How is school going? You’re almost done with kindergarten and will soon be a first grader! What interesting books have you read? What are you learning about in math (I was so impressed that you could add 52 and 5 to get 57 when we were last together! I couldn’t do that in kindergarten!). Are you still studying oceans or have you moved on to a different topic in science?

I don’t remember too much about was taught when I was in kindergarten, but I do remember playing a lot. We also got to do a lot of arts and crafts stuff (like painting) that I didn’t have the materials for at home, so that was a lot of fun. I recall that for “aprons” to keep the thick paints from getting on our clothes, we wore our dad’s used shirt backwards so that the button side was on our back. It worked! Most of my friends and I had paint all over our dads’ shirts – but not on our good school clothes!

Have you read any good books lately? I have. It was called “Who Was King Tut?” by Roberta Edwards. The book is the nonfiction (or about real people and events) story of the famous Egyptian pharaoh King Tut. He also is known as the “boy king” because he ruled all of Egypt even though he was a boy. The book told about the mummy’s curse – it was said that bad things would anyone to who disturbed King Tut’s tomb (where he was buried). So did bad things happen to the scientists who found King Tut’s tomb? You will have to read the book and find out! You probably can find the book at your city library or a bookstore – be sure to look for it when your grandmother or mom take you there!

Well, that is all for this letter. I shall see you in just six days – on May 24. I love and miss you very much!

Love,

Dad

My email sent to you on April 13, 2013

Here is my letter from April 13, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

Grandma Bignell and I had a wonderful visiting with you yesterday! We both were so very happy to see you again and were so very glad that you had fun as well.

Both of us were very impressed with your math abilities. You are very advanced for you age! For as long as I can remember, you’ve been very good at math. When you were only two years old, you started counting. By the time you were three, you could count up to a 100, and by the time you were four, you could count by fives and tens.

Playing games was a lot of fun, too. The card game you taught us was very interesting. Your cousins Bryan and Rebekah like to play games as well. They play everything from Candy Land to Clue and lots of card games, like Go Fish, Old Maid, War and lots of others. Bryan also likes to play Battleship and Stratego. When we were together, I was just starting to teach you to play checkers and very basic chess. What games do you like to play with your friends?

The U.S. map puzzle was a good time, as well. You know a lot of states and where they’re located! Do you know that you’ve been to 1 out of every 5 states? The states you’ve visited or lived in are California, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. I can tell you lots of stories of what you did in each state and have pictures of you in most of them. What states what you like to go to?

I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the books at school. I also read a good book recently. It was called “Being Rude” by Joy Berry. In the book, a young boy who’s in kindergarten/first grade goes around doing all kinds of rude things to other kids, like cutting in line and talking out of turn. He soon finds that no one wants to be his friend at all! Will the little boy start being nice to others so he can have friends again? You’ll have to read the book and find out! I bet you can find it in your school or city library in the children’s section.

Watching you discover how the piano works also was fun. I’ve enjoyed watching you discover and learn new things. That you were so fascinated by the piano was not surprising, for you’ve always been interested in music. When we lived in Lancaster, you used to play my guitar, and I even bought you a toy one to play with when we were in San Diego. You also had a recorder (a flute-like instrument), drums, tambourine, and harmonica. In my office, you’d line up all of your stuffies, give them each an instrument to play, and then taking the guitar would give me a concert in which you played Beatles songs!

Have a good time at your concert Sunday! I wish I could be there to watch you sing. I love and miss you very much and will see you on again on Friday, April 26. I look forward to receiving your email, maybe with a picture of you at the concert!

Love,

Dad

My email to you for March 16, 2013

Here is my email to you for March 16, 2013, just in case you don’t receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you today? I hope you’re doing well. I’d doing fine, though I miss you very much.

How is school going? I did not receive your email to me last week, so I did not get to hear from you how you are doing in kindergarten. Please have your mother resend the email to me so I can catch up on your schooling.

Tomorrow (Sunday, March 17), you will have to make sure you wear green. Why? Because it’s St. Patrick’s Day! It is a very important day for people who are Irish. Though we’re not Irish, we still celebrate the holiday out of respect to those who are and because it’s a lot of fun!

Do you get spring break at your school? The school where your cousins Rebekah and Bryan go has spring break in just another week. During spring break, they get the whole week off from school! Schools often have spring break so that parents can take their children on vacation, and then the kids don’t have to miss any school.

If you could go on vacation, where would you go? Some people travel to lots of fun places like Disneyworld in Florida (We used to go to Disneyland in California.). Other families travel to scenic or historical places where they can enjoy nature or learn about our past. Places like that include a national park, such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, or Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital. Other families don’t travel at all but spend their vacation in their own house, enjoying their time together playing games and watching movies and maybe going to fun places that are nearby, like a mall.

After St. Patrick’s Day and spring break comes Easter on March 31. Do you have big plans for Easter, like going to an egg hunt or maybe out to eat for Easter dinner? I am going to Grandma and Grandpa Bignell’s for Easter. Your Uncle Chris, Aunt Suzie, cousins Bryan and Rebekah, Aunt Sandy and Uncle Mark all will be there. We are having ham and prime rib for dinner. All of us wish you could be there with us for Easter sinenr.

There sure is a lot of snow on the ground – much more than we had in California! Do you like playing in the snow? Have you made a snowman or snow angels yet? Have you gone sledding? When I was a little boy your age, I always liked to go sledding down snow-covered hills and then have hot chocolate afterward. You might remember that we went up into the mountains near our house in Lancaster and went sledding and had hot chocolate afterward – it was the first time you ever had hot chocolate, and you loved it! You had so much fun going up and down and down the hills and drank so much hot chocolate that you slept the whole drive back to our house.

Once the snow starts to melt in a couple of weeks, the wind will start to pick up as spring arrives. That makes for great kite-flying weather. Would you like to fly a kite?

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss you very much and can’t wait to see you again on March 29!

Love,

Dad

My Jan. 5, 2013, email to you

Here is a copy of my letter sent to you on Jan. 5, 2013, just in case you are not allowed to see it:

Hi Kieran,

I had so much fun visiting with you yesterday! I can’t wait to see you again on Friday, Feb. 1.

What game should I bring next time for us to play? I am thinking of getting checkers or maybe some of the card games like Old Maid or Go Fish that we used to play at the condo.

Playing with the remote control dune buggy was a good time. You got really good at maneuvering it! When I was a little boy your age, I always wanted a real dune buggy. They are very dangerous, though, and wreck the environment, so there are very many places that one can drive them, and that is probably good. We’ll have to enjoy the toy remote control dune buggy, I guess! Don’t forget to turn it off by moving the red switch on the dune buggy’s bottom or the batteries will die.

The cars that came with the truck also were a lot of fun (They were a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Bignell). As a little boy, I use to draw roads on cut-out paper bags or potato chip boxes to drive the vehicles on. Maybe we should do that the next time we get together – I’ll bring some markers or crayons. Let me know if you’d like to do that.

Thank you for painting the picture for me! I have hung it up over my desk so I may enjoy it every day.

I must compliment you for being so kind to the workers at the center yesterday by offering to share your M&M’s and root beer with them. You are a very nice, polite boy (Just like I taught you!).

You asked if next time I might bring some action figures for you, but we never got to which ones you might like. Perhaps you could let me know in your next email that you send.

Going back to school should be a lot of fun on Monday. I bet it’s been a while since you’ve seen your friends!

We didn’t get a chance to read the books I brought yesterday. I have books about Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Peter Pan, Jake and the Pirates, and A Bug’s Life.

Have fun at school this week, and I will see on Friday, Feb. 1. I miss you very much!

Love,

Dad

My email sent to you Dec. 29, 2012

Here is the email I sent Dec. 29, 2012, in case you don't receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing today? I miss and love you very much!

I hope you’re enjoying winter break from school. Sometimes winter breaks can get awful long as you don’t get to see and play with your friends every day, but having free time to play with your own toys is fun, too.

What did you receive for Christmas? Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Chris and Aunt Suzy, and I had lots of fun picking our Christmas gifts for you. We still have a couple left to give, and I’ll be sure to bring those when we get together next Friday – which is in just six days!

I bet you’re having fun playing in the snow. Have you made a snowman yet? You always enjoyed going out into the snow in the mountains when we lived in California. We’d go sliding, make snowmen, and toss snowballs.

What do you plan to do for New Year’s Eve? A lot of people stay up until midnight so that they can say they were awake during the first minute of the new year. That’s staying up really late! Last year on New Year’s Eve, we went to the fireworks at Legoland. It was held at 6 p.m., and you fell asleep in the car on the way back home!

Have you read any good books lately? I have. It was “The Big Snow,” by Berta and Elmer Hader. It’s all about how geese, rabbits, deer, raccoons and chipmunks in a forest got ready for the first snowfall of winter. There are some very beautiful illustrations of animals in it. I bet your school library has the book; if not, your local city library probably does.

Well, that is all for now. I can’t wait to see you on Jan. 4, and in the meantime I look forward to receiving your email responding to mine.

Love,

Dad

My email to you from Dec. 22, 2012

Here is my email to you sent Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012, just in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran,

It was so good to see you yesterday! I had a lot of fun and am very happy you enjoyed all of the presents from Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Chris and Aunt Susie, and Santa!

I received your email as well yesterday. It was a little odd, though, as it appeared to be written earlier in the week though the date stamp was Friday night.

Thank you for the birthday wishes. I remember very well the night that you were born, and based on what Grandma and Grandpa have told me, the days we were born were very similar! I had to drive through snow to get to the hospital where your mother was, and so did my dad have to drive to the hospital to where my mother was! It also was nighttime when we drove, so it was very dark.

I appreciate that when we were together you sang the songs you did in your Christmas program. You have a wonderful voice, and I’m very impressed that you were able to remember all of those words! I am sorry I was not able to be at the programs this year, but hopefully I will be at them next year. I bet getting on the stage to sing was a lot of fun!

It is great to hear that you like the snow. You always did when we went into the mountains after a snowfall. Do you have your own sled? My school had a sledding hill behind it that we always got to use during recess, so every year I got a new sled. All of my classmates and me always decorated our sleds with magic markers, drawing cool flames or airplane symbols on them.

I’m so glad you and your classmates brought toys to the TV station. There are many children who are less unfortunate than we are and so get very little or even nothing at all for Christmas. You helped to make many other kids’ Christmas very special rather than a sad day. Giving always is more fun than receiving, though it may not seem like that at first. I wish I would have known about your school’s plans, as I would have donated toys, too, for you to deliver.

You have a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you receive all that you ask for. I miss you very much and can’t wait to see you in just a couple of weeks!

Love,

Dad

My email sent to you on Dec. 15, 2012

Sledding in the Angeles National Forest,
December 2010.

Here is the email I sent to you on Dec. 15, 2012, just in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing? I’m doing well though I miss you quite a lot and every day. I am very concerned, though, that I haven’t received an email responding to any of my three previous emails. Please confirm that you received this one with a response and have your mother send the previous emails as they have not arrived.

I am very excited because I get to see you next Friday on Dec. 21! We should have lots of fun playing games and playing with toys as well as reading a book or two, and just plain catching up on all that you’ve been doing. I’ll also be bringing lots of Christmas presents from me, Grandma and Grandpa, your Uncle Chris and Susie, and one or two that Santa left at my house for you!
 

Have you enjoyed all the new snowfall? It’s great for building snowmen and snow forts. When I was a little boy, we’d go sledding during winter. My school had a big hill behind it that we could take sleds up and slide down. I bet you remember the times we drove up into the mountains and went sledding together – my schoolmates and I used sleds just like the one we used.

What do you plan to do for Christmas vacation? While getting an extra day or two off of school was fun, I always missed my friends when I wasn’t in class and so wished for vacation to end! What do your friends plan to do during vacation?

Are you having a big Christmas party at school? I always liked the Christmas parties when I went to school because we exchanged presents, and everyone brought in fun foods that their mother’s or father’s made. It was neat to taste cookies and bars and other sweets other kids’ parents baked!

Have you read any good books lately? I bet you have, knowing how much you like to read and have stories read to you. This past week I read “Reindeer Christmas” by Mark Kimball Moulton. In the book, two young children and their grandmother find a hungry and lost baby deer in the woods. So they take in the fawn, feeding and nursing it back to health. Except when the deer grows up, they find it’s not exactly a deer! Can you guess what the baby deer grew up to be?

That is all for now. I love you and miss you very much and can’t wait to see you on Friday – and to get those missing emails!

Love,

Dad

My email sent to you on Dec. 8, 2012

Here is the email I sent to you on Dec. 8, 2012, just in case you don’t receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing? I hope all is going well for you. I miss you and love you very much. Unfortunately, I did not receive a response to either of my last two emails. Perhaps you could ask you mother to resend your responses to me.

How is school going? What new things are you learning there? When we were last together, you said you were learning about letters. Have you got to the letter “m” yet? Since we’re getting close to the middle of the school year, you might be there (or must be really close!).

Is your school putting on a holiday program? I wish I could be there to see it! Your cousins Bryan and Rebekah had a holiday program at their schools. They sang songs with their classmates. What is your program called and what do you get to do in it (If you school is having a holiday program that is!).

My schools always had holiday programs, but we called them “Christmas Programs.” Today, though, there are many people who are not Christians that attend schools, so they do not celebrate Christmas. They may celebrate other holidays though; for example, if you are Jewish you would celebrate Hanukkah at this time of year. Many of us, even if we’re Christian, try to show our respect for other people’s religions and beliefs by referring to it as a “holiday program” rather than a “Christmas program.”

Have you written your letter to Santa yet listing what you want for Christmas? What is on your list? Be sure to leave cookies and milk for him on Dec. 24 so that you get lots of presents when he comes to your house (In Wisconsin, children leave him cheese, so they get even MORE presents!)!

How are your friends doing? What do they want for Christmas or other holidays their families might be celebrating? Have you done any fun things with them?

Have you read any good books lately? I did. It was called “Morris’ Disappearing Bag,” by Rosemary Wells. Morris got a disappearing bag for Christmas. Nobody believes it works, until he jumps into the bag and becomes invisible! Everyone then wants to play with Morris and his disappearing bag, but first they have to find him because he’s still invisible! It was a very humorous book to read.

That is all for now. I’m to see you on Dec. 21 and am looking forward to it. I have all kinds of fun presents that your grandparents, aunt and uncle, cousins, me and even Santa have left for you. Be a good boy – and don’t forget to tell mom to resend those missing emails!

Love,

Dad

My email sent to you on Dec. 1, 2012

Here is my email sent to you on Dec. 1, 2012, in case you don’t receive it:

Hi Kieran,

Hope you are doing well. I miss and love you very much! I was surprised to not receive a response to my last email, which I sent Nov. 25. Quite a number of your email responses somehow are not getting to me! Perhaps you could have your mother resend all of them, especially your one from this past week.

How is school going? What kinds of things are you learning about? I recall you telling me that you were studying the phases of the moon. Have you moved on to other space topics?

The last time we were together, you mentioned that the guinea pigs in your classroom were looking for a new home. Did they find one yet? Where did they go?

Christmas is coming up - it'll be here in a little more than three weeks! What presents have you put on your list to Santa? What presents do your friends want? When I was in kindergarten, for Christmas I got a GI Joe doll and the "There's a Monster at the End of this Book" storybook. I got other toys and books as well, but those are the only two gifts I remember!

Speaking of books, have you read any good new ones lately? I did - it was called “Santa’s Secrets Revealed” by James Solheim. It's about this boy named Stevie who doesn't believe Santa could possibly deliver toys to so many boys and girls in just one night. So Santa takes him on a tour of his high-tech facilities and shows him how the elves and reindeer really get the presents to everyone! It was a very humorous book.

We are scheduled to visit one another on Friday, Dec. 7. I can't wait to see you - and I'll be bringing some Christmas gifts that Santa dropped off at my house for you!

Be a good boy, and I'll see you soon!

Love,

Dad

 

My email sent to you on Nov. 10, 2012

Here’s a copy of my email sent to you on Nov. 10, 2012, just in case you don’t receive it:

Hi Kieran,

I had fun seeing you, too, and am glad you liked the toys and candy. I will bring the Battleship game and some Christmas presents from Grandma and Grandpa Bignell the next time we get together.

I’m glad you got a chance to “vote”! Did you know that you actually voted for President Obama when he ran for office in 2008? I took you to vote with me and let you push the “buttons” on the screen for the candidates I wanted to vote for! Voting is very important and something we should do every election, so I’m glad you’re getting into the habit.

I can’t wait to see your Ninja costume pictures. I bet you looked cool! In the past, you’ve gone trick or treating as a Jedi knight, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, a doctor, Elmo and as Tigger (when you were a baby).

Speaking of Jedi Knights, I believe I mentioned that three new “Star Wars” movies will be coming out. The first one will be in movie theaters 2015, or three years from now. That’s a long time to wait, isn’t it?! A “Star Trek” movie comes out next year in 2013.

I’m glad Como Park Zoo has refurbished its kids’ area. When I was a little boy your age and went there, they had a cool kiddie roller coaster. My cousin Barry always got sick whenever he went on it, so his dad would take me instead. I always held my hands high up in the air when we went over bumps. In fact, I think your mommy and I went on that kiddie roller coaster together just before they closed it down.

I am a little concerned about this bully Logan you told me about. You should tell your mom about him so she can bring it up to the teacher or principal at your school, okay?

I had fun building and playing Bioncles with you on Friday. I hope you take them on lots of adventures! And I can’t wait to see your new skateboard. You always liked to watch the older kids do skateboard tricks when you were a toddler and we went to the park in Santa Clarita.

I love you and miss you very much! Have fun this weekend!

Dad

My email sent to you on Nov. 3, 2012

Here's a copy of the email I sent to you on Nov. 3, 2012, just in case you don't receive it:

Hi Kieran,

It is wonderful to hear from you! I hope you are doing well. I love you and miss you very much!

I am very glad Mom has got the email all worked out.

Freeze tag is a very fun game to play! I played it in school, too! We also played dodgeball and kickball a lot. I bet you are very good at freeze tag!

The guinea pig sounds like a fun classroom pet. What does the guinea pig eat? What color is it?

I used to go to the Como Park Zoo, too, when I was your age. They didn’t have a Minnesota Zoo back then! I always liked to see the chimpanzees and the giant tortoises. I heard that the carnival rides have been remodeled and are now open again. They have penguins, now? Cool!

I bet the Halloween party at school was fun. Which costume did you decide on?

Skippy Jon Jones books are the best. His group of imaginary Chihuahua friends is very humorous. Speaking of a book about presidents, there is a big election Tuesday! Who do you think will win?

That is all for now. Write back soon!

Love,

Dad

 

 

My sixth email sent to you!

Here is a copy of my sixth email, sent to you today (Oct. 27, 2012), just in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

Hope you are doing well. I am doing fine, though I miss you like crazy and can’t wait to see you!
Which brings me to some good news: We should get to see each other in just a couple of weeks, the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 9! We will get to spend a couple of hours together. I have a fun afternoon of games and toys and books for us. Would you like me to bring anything special for you?

I did not receive your email responding to my last email (from Saturday, Oct. 27). Perhaps your mother sent it to the wrong address when she changed the email name. Hopefully you will be able to send the email to me Sunday (Oct. 28). Also, I have yet to receive your emails to my second and third emails to you. Perhaps you could resend those, too?

Have you decided if you will be Anakin or a firefighter for Halloween? Your cousin Rebekah is going as a witch for trick or treat. Your cousin Bryan, however, is in seventh grade and too old to go trick or treating, so he doesn’t have a costume. Is your school planning a Halloween party? What are some of the costumes your friends plan to wear?

I wish I could be with you this Halloween. Last year we had lots of fun at Halloween celebrations, going to Disneyland, Legoland, Sea World and the pumpkin festival in Santa Clarita. We even got to see the Halloween fireworks at Legoland! Here are a whole bunch of pictures from our Halloween celebrations we went to last year.

This afternoon I got to hear a Beatles radio program, “The Beatles Year,” that we sometimes listened to Sunday mornings last year on our way to various places. The program told how the Beatles came up with some of songs from their CD “With the Beatles” and then played those tracks. When we first got the CD and listened to in the car, you thought it was called “Breakfast with the Beatles” – which actually was the name of a radio program we sometimes listened to – and you would get frustrated with me because you asked to listen to “Breakfast with the Beatles” but I’d tell you the radio show wasn’t on. You’d say “It’s not a radio show!” Eventually we figured out you really wanted to her the CD “Meet the Beatles”!

Have you read any good books lately? This week I read “Oh No, Not Ghosts!” by Richard Michelson. It’s about a brother and sister who after going to bed at night keep hearing strange, scary sounds – like the floorboard going creeeeeak – and see something wriggling, sniggling, and slithering in the shadows. Except they don’t want to wake up their daddy, who is sleeping in the other room, because they don’t want him to know they’re scared. Guess what was making the sounds though? It was their daddy snoring!

Well, that is all for now. Be sure to have your mother recheck the email address and resend your emails! I love you!

Dad

My fourth email to you

I'm posting my fourth email to you, sent via email to you today, in case you don't receive it.

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing? Hope all is going well from you. I haven’t received any of your emails since Sept. 24; I’m hoping that you could resend them to me.

I would love to hear how kindergarten is going. Do you go to all-day kindergarten? I only had to go to half-day kindergarten when I was your age. Hopefully soon you’ll be able to show me your classroom and introduce me to your teacher and friends. It’s very important for parents to be involved in their children’s schooling.

Today I’m listening to a radio program about the Beatles, called “The Beatles Years.” Sometimes we would catch it on the car radio Sunday mornings when I lived in Encinitas. The show today is about all the big things the Beatles did during the month of October.

I bet you remember the Beatles concerts we went to. Of course, they weren’t the real Beatles, but they looked and sounded a lot like them, didn’t they? They’re called “tribute bands.” There are lots of Beatles tribute bands where we live now in the Twin Cities, and once you and I are able to see one another again, I’ll take you to see some of their shows if you should like.

I bought you (well, really “us”) a new book a couple of days ago while shopping in downtown Hudson: “Darth Vader and Son,” by Jeffrey Brown. It’s a series of comics about what Darth Vader would have been like as a dad if he had raised Luke Skywalker as a little boy!

Besides being very funny, the book seemed really special to me as we both like “Star Wars.” You might also remember that one Halloween we went trick or treating together with you dressed as Luke Skywalker and me as Darth Vader. And I’m certain you'll recall all of the great light saber battles we had in which you were Luke and I was Darth!

Some of the comics might not make too much sense until you’re a daddy yourself. That's okay - I'll be sure to save the book for you to enjoy with your own little boy one day!

How is the bicycle riding come along? Have the training wheels come off yet? With school and the colder weather, I bet you don’t have as much time anymore to ride your bicycle except on weekends. There probably will be some warm days yet before Halloween sets in to ride your bicycle. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.

What costume do you plan to wear for Halloween this year? Is your school planning a Halloween party? I always looked forward to my school’s holiday parties because you got to eat lots of different cookies, bars and cakes that the others’ kids parents made but that my own mom didn’t!

Well, that is all for now. I look forward to hearing from you and receiving your other missing emails.

Love,

Dad

A copy of my third email to you

Sent this email to you Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, and am posting it here in case you don't receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you? Hope you are doing well. I did not receive your response to my email sent Sept. 25. Perhaps you could resend it? That’s why I’m so long in getting back to you; I was hoping to first see what you wrote, and then I could respond to it.

How is kindergarten going? What are the names of your friends and what kinds of things do you like to do together? My best friend in kindergarten was Ronald Wolfe. We were next door neighbors, so we got to ride the school bus together. Our kindergarten classroom had these large cardboard blocks the size of shoeboxes, so Ronald and I spent a lot of time building cool things with them: forts, bridges, mini-cities and so on. It was a lot of fun.

Halloween is almost here! What do you plan to dress up as for trick or treats? Last year when I lived in Encinitas, we went to a lot of different Halloween celebrations together during the month of October, and if I recall correctly, you dressed up as something different each time! Let’s see, you were a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and then a Jedi knight when we went to Legoland and then a clone trooper when we went to Sea World. Do you remember meeting Jack Skellington and Sally at Disneyland? That was all a great time, and I have pictures of each of our trips as well as other Halloweens we spent together. You can see the pictures here.

Have you read any good books lately? I just read a really good book called “The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything” by Linda Williams. It’s about this old lady who takes a walk in the dark woods and this pair of shoes starts following her! But she wasn’t afraid of them. After all, she’s not afraid of anything (I would be scared of a pair of shows following me, wouldn’t you?!). Then a pair of pants starts to follow her. But she wasn’t afraid of it. Then a shirt and all kinds of other clothes start to follow her. But she wasn’t afraid of any of them. And then a jack o’ lantern starts to follow her! Do you think she was afraid of it? You will have to read the book and find out!

Your cousins Bryan and Rebekah have not decided want they want to dress up for Halloween this year. They are very excited about Grandma baking some Halloween cookies, though! She has cookie cutters to make pumpkins, black cats and autumn leaves. She just bought lots of orange frosting and cool black and green and purple sprinkles to put on them. Hopefully we will be able to get together soon so I can bring you some of her cookies!

I’ve missed you every day that we’ve been apart and can’t wait for us to get together again. So tell me a little about your life these past few months. What is your bedroom and house like where you live? What are your new favorite toys to play with? What TV shows do you now like to watch? What kinds of things are you learning in school? What exciting places have you been to since moving to Minnesota? What would you like to do again when we get together?

Well, I best let you get back to playing. Have fun and be sure to write back!

Love,

Daddy

My email response to your first email!

Here is my response to your first email, sent Sept. 25, 2012. I'm publishing it here just in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

It was so wonderful to hear from you after all of these months. I’ve missed you every day that we’ve been apart.

I chuckled when you said the email was long – I suppose it was for an email, but we’ve been apart for a long time and have lots of catching up to do. I write and edit books for a living, so whipping off an email that long was pretty easy for me!

I’m so glad you like kindergarten and school. Other than your family, there’s nothing more important than your education. Even when school may seem boring or difficult, always do your best, and in the end you’ll be a very happy person.

I’d love to hear about your school. Do you go to kindergarten all day? When I went to kindergarten, I only went half a day, in the morning, and got to eat lunch at home with my mom and little brother. What kind of crafts have you made in kindergarten? Who are some of your friends that you play with? What is your teacher like?

I’m so proud of you that you’re learning to ride a bicycle! You might remember that before you left California we went to a few shops and looked at bicycles for you, and you were very excited about getting one. Pushing the pedals was very difficult, but now that you’re older and stronger, I’m sure it’s a lot easier. What color is your bicycle? Do you have any fun do-dads on it? When I was your age, we used to put streamers on our handlebars, and some of the kids even had horns! A few of us boys put a playing card in our wheel spokes so that it’d make this cool thwap! thwap! sound when we cruised around.

You might recall the book “Lizzie’s Do’s and Don’ts” that we got from the library (“Don’t climb high in trees. Don’t put 10 band-aids on your knees!”). One of the don’ts was that Lizzie’s mom got upset at her when she took a card from the playing deck and put it in her bicycle wheel!

Have you read any good books lately? I bet your kindergarten teacher reads books to you at story time. I just read “Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type.” It’s about these cows that find an old typewriter in the barn, so they type a letter to Farmer Brown asking for electric blankets. When he doesn’t give them any electric blankets, they go on strike and tell him, “No electric blankets, no milk!”

You said you have several pictures of me. I am glad to hear that. Where did you get the pictures? I don’t recall you having a photo album. I’d love to look at the pictures with you; I probably can tell you lots of fun stories about what was happening when the picture was taken.
Well, that is all for now. I can’t wait to hear from you!

Love,

Dad

Your first email to me!

Received your first email from you! This is the first time that I've "heard" from you since May 9 - more than four months now. Of course, someone else had to write it for you. I've published it here so that when you're older and able to read it, you can tell me if it really came from you ... I have my suspicions about that as the email makes a concerted effort to show how your current situation is perfect and didn't answer a number of questions or respond to a number of topics I wrote in my email. In addition, the wording isn;t entirely the way you speak, not matching your speaking patterns. Still, I will give everyone the benefit of the doubt for now and presume you really got to hear to first email to you and that these really are your words.

Dad:

I got your e-mail it sure was long.

I like my Kindergarten class and going to school.

I even go to bed early so I can be up to go to school early and play.

I have  a good breakfast every day.

I am learning to ride a 2 wheeler with training wheels and can’t wait for the training wheels come off and Grandpa can teach me to ride a 2 wheeler.

I still have several pictures of you and me.

Gotta go outside to play.  Bye.

Love,

Kieran

My first email to you

I finally received your email address from your mother and sent ny first email to you. Just in case in don't receive the email, I've included it here for you to read.

Dear Kieran,

I am so glad that we finally are able to talk with one another. First, I want you to know that I love you more than anything in the whole world, that I have always loved you, and that I always will, no matter what. Next, I also want you to know that I miss you very much and think about you every day and all the time. I never wanted us to be apart and cannot wait to see you again. And lastly, that is the good news – we should be able to spend time together very soon, hopefully within the next couple of weeks.

The picture I included with the email.

Since we last saw one another four months ago, I have moved out of our condo in Palmdale to Wisconsin. You might remember when we used to go to the library together and looked at the globe of how I would point out where England and California was. I also always pointed out where Minnesota and Wisconsin were, noting that is where your mommy and I grew up. I live very close to you in Wisconsin so we can get together as much as possible.

In a few months, I hope to take you to the farm where I grew up in Wisconsin so you can meet your Grandma and Grandpa, who you used to talk to on the phone. They haven’t seen you since you were a little baby and can’t wait to have fun with you again. Your cousins Bryan and Rebekah and your Uncle Chris and Aunt Susie also can’t wait to see you again. Rebekah is in kindergarten, just like you.

I want you to know that I’m sorry I wasn’t there to see you off on your first day to kindergarten or to find out at the end of the day your thoughts and feelings about this first big day in your new school. You’ll learn a lot in kindergarten, and it’ll be a lot of fun for you, of that I’m sure. You’ll have the opportunity to make new friends, some of whom may last a lifetime. Be sure to get lots of sleep and to always eat a good breakfast before heading off to school – that’ll always make the day go better!

I would love for you to show me your kindergarten classroom and introduce me to your teacher and all of friends soon. There are so many things I can’t wait to talk to you about, fun places I can’t wait to take you, great games I can’t wait to play with you, and great books I can’t wait to read to you.

So tell me a little about your life these past few months. What is your bedroom and house like where you live? What are your new favorite toys to play with? What TV shows do you now like to watch? What is your teacher’s name and the names of your friends? What do you and your friends like to do together for fun? What is your favorite part of kindergarten? What kinds of things are you learning in school? What exciting places have you been to since moving to Minnesota? What would you like to do again when we get together?

I’ve included a picture of us together so that you have a photo of me. It was taken last Easter in Lancaster at the Easter Egg Hunt. I’ll always remember how you offered to share your Easter eggs with another little boy who was only able to pick up a couple of them. I was very proud of you!

I miss you so much, Kieran, and can’t wait to see you again. Hopefully, that will be in just a couple of weeks. When we do get together, I promise we’ll have lots of fun, just we always do whenever we spend together. I can’t wait to hear from you, so write back soon!

Love,

Daddy

We finally get to see and communicate with one another!

Good news, Kieran! My attorney and I had a court hearing yesterday morning.

The court ordered that I be able to visit you once a month with the opportunity for new visits. We'll get to meet at Genesis II, a center in Minenapolis. There's no word yet on exactly when the meeting will take place, but if I have not heard by Monday, I shall follow up.

I also get to send you an email once a week. Your mother will have to set up an email for you, read it to you, and then type your reply to me. There's no word yet on exactly when we can start emailing one another, but if I have not heard by Monday, I again shall follow up. There's really no reason we couldn't start emailing one another today, after all.

I'm really looking forward to seeing you again! We have a lot of catching up to do.

Will I write back to you?

As we've part for so long now, you might wonder if I received a letter/email for you, if would I write back. It's a common question that many children have when separated from a parent. Maybe you're not asking it, but I'd like to answer anyway, just in case.

The answer is "Yes, I would." Depending on what you write, I might take a day or two to answer, as I need to consider your safety in how I get the response to you. There are people who do not want us to be together, and should they discover that I've emailed or written you, I fear that you might be wrongly punished.

What will I write? I will tell you all what I'm doing for work, where I'm living, my personal projects, if I'm involved with someone. I will answer your questions, all of them, to the best of my ability. I will tell you how you can safely reach me/get into contact with me (even though this website conains that info). I will ask questions of you - where you are living, what you like about school, what are your favorite hobbies/sports/activities, who your friends are, what you hope to be when you grow up, and more based on your age.

Most importantly, I will try to assure you that I love you - that I always have, that I do now, and that I always will.

So yes, go ahead and write that letter or send that email. I am waiting for it.