Dearest Grandad,

Here is a letter that I never published and probably never will. But I just want you to know that I love you.

Its been such a long time since I've written a letter that the task has seemed almost daunting for the longest time. I just finished speaking with you on your new cell phone, a startling purchase, but it makes me happy to know that I can connect with you anytime, anywhere...I have had so much to say, its hard to know where to start. Like many of my generation, we easily lose touch with those we care about the most in the maelstrom of activity and swirl of thoughts that surrounds these modern times. Part of my comfort all of these years has been knowing that there is a solid force, an invisible light, behind all that this family, and extended family, does. That force is you, and I rarely get the chance to express these thoughts. I see touches of your strength imbued in all of the daily life and travails, from Natalie's perseverance and growth as a mother and your own daughter's (my mom's) devotion to the pure life and raising two small boys in the tough suburbs of Washington, DC, to Uncle Michael's silent and guiding personality, full of practical and steady devotion to his wife and children...

In everything that I am, and everything that I do, I credit your strength and I love you eternally.