A Letter to My Granddaughter, on Her Graduation Day

My Dear Granddaughter, Congratulations on your high school graduation. I wanted to get you something special for the occasion. I came across the enclosed hand-painted feather in a gift shop on a recent trip to Arizona. It felt like the right gift because it also comes with a story. One I haven’t told you before. It’s about your biological mother—my daughter, Missy.

- Lynn Mueser

You know she loved you, and that is why she gave you up. It was a difficult choice, but it was the right one. Missy was so young when she got pregnant. Her life was unstable. She was struggling on and off with drug addiction. And I was too old to raise another child. We both wanted you to have a big family, with parents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. Everything we couldn’t give you.

When your mom and dad invited me to be a part of your life, I was overjoyed. Missy couldn’t have picked better people to be your parents. Every time I visited you and saw what a happy, welladjusted little girl you were, it confirmed once again that Missy had made the right decision. The story I want to tell you starts in April of 2005. When you were just seven years old.

I’ll never forget that day. It was warm. The sun was shining. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. But I couldn’t enjoy it. I had this lingering sense of unease. I hadn’t heard from Missy in a few days. It wasn’t that unusual, but I couldn’t help but worry. I’d called several times and gotten her voice mail. Her inbox was full, and I couldn’t leave a message. I told myself I was being silly. Missy was improving, working on getting off drugs. She was likely just busy. It was probably nothing.