Newly learned letter fits daughter to a T

Post-Crescent column - Sept. 9, 2009
Dear letter T, I'm writing you a thank-you note on behalf of Mihret, my 2½-year-old daughter, who's totally tickled pink to see you every day.

She's been telling me and her daddy every time she spies you out and about.

Your buddy, the letter M, is old hat where she's concerned. You're at the total center of her attention.

She first thought you were terrific after watching you twist and turn in a YouTube Sesame Street music video. Now, she can't take her eyes off of you.

You're at the Building for Kids, where Mihret plays almost every weekend, and you help remind families to watch their steps. Mihret can't move on without stopping to get down on her knees and trace you with her fingers.

It doesn't matter if you're high up on a street sign, and Mihret's in her car seat. She can spot you, especially on those big, red stop signs.

It's become a game between mother and daughter for me to get all excited about reading words with you in them when we're on the road, just to see Mihret's face light up and hear her giggle.

She can see you when you're big and when you're little. She hangs around our shelves so she can find you on the spines of our books.

At the end of the day, Mihret is still all atwitter over you. When she comes to give me a hug before bed, she points you out on my EAA AirVenture flight-themed nightshirt, in the to-do notes I've scribbled for myself, and on the pages of the National Geographic magazine I've put down to pull her up onto my lap.

Mihret's turning the next page on her learning and, letter T, you've happened along at just the right time.

Thanks again,

Kara

By Kara Patterson, Post-Crescent staff writer/www.postcrescent.com