part celebration amazing women roles shaping idea write posts grandmothers inspired magpie girl's remembrances grandmother approach souls wait remember dear grandma feel inexplicably close life lived california convinced part closeness result distance year pen-pal reading letters learned write letters expressive lots exclamation points underlining hear voice talking phone letters descriptive words paint images interactions people beauty physical world reading letters made feel learned letter writing hand regularly penning thoughts west years sister flew california move home found letter written thought treasuring letter fills love letters wrote long part clear window true pen-pal safely open private space created paper prepare ready peer window made feel close recognized sizable portion significant aspect wanted relate love words music clothes quirky sense humor relate feisty response ruffled feathers feisty attitude trouble transparent opinionated life head-on relate drawn pure joyfulness circumstances unwavering trust god's goodness true light managed bring sunshine people downplaying life's darkness storms realist cynical wanted living nursing home michigan parents spend time body weakened mind clouded dementia managed light nursing home spreading infectious spent days scooting halls wheelchair recently you've started napping requiring feed hard imagine writing letter makes incredibly happy letters back makes profoundly saddest thing knowing read communicate understand reads words stop wondering directly things absorb trust bond deeper words page underlying essence felt written makes heart love kristin grandma june youngest daughter june 