Carl's Chair

Hi Claire:

Your Mom just finished working on a neat project that we think you'll enjoy very much ... she just put a special chair in your bedroom that has a very special story behind it. Here's how the story goes: Many years ago your Mom had an older brother. His name was Carl, and he was born in Sweden a few years before your Mom was. Carl was a happy, energetic young boy. In every picture we've seen of Carl, he is always smiling. Sadly, at the tender age of 2, Carl was afflicted with a serious stomach cancer which claimed his life.

A few years ago, your Mom and I were back in Sweden at Mormor's house. One day, Daddy decided to go up into the attic and explore. I wanted to see what was up there. And way back in a corner ... I found a tiny little red chair. It looked like it had been there for several years. It was covered in dust and cobwebs. I was curious about the chair. I thought at one time, it might have belonged to your Mom or her twin sister, Louise. So I brought the chair down to Mormor and asked her about it. She explained that the chair had belonged to Carl. Later in our stay, your Mom and I asked Mormor if we could keep the chair so that one day, we could give it to you. Mormor smiled and thought that was a fantastic idea. So, we packed up the little red chair in a box, and shipped it over the Atlantic Ocean to our house. And for a few years now, we've kept the chair while we waited for you.

Now that we know you're coming, Mommy decided it would be a good time to give some new life to Carl's chair. So, she went out and bought some paint to match the colors in your new bedroom. Then, she asked Daddy to sand the paint off of the little, red chair. And then Mommy went to work. Over a couple of days, she carefully painted the chair. It looks great.

We've put some special friends in the chair. They'll keep the chair warm for you until you come home. We're excited about the day when you sit in that chair. We want to read you lots of stories while you're sitting in that chair. We can imagine you coloring while you're sitting in that chair. And we hope that you have many happy times and smile a lot while you're sitting in that chair. And we also believe that up in heaven, Carl is smiling knowing that his chair has new life.

Waiting patiently,

Mom and Dad