For the first time ever, my three “babies” are all away at sleep away camp. Since the camps do not allow phone communication, I am left waiting for those precious letters that come from camp. I never thought that I would develop a relationship with the mail man, but believe it or not, I have. I have memorized his route down pat. I know what time he shows up at my building, and I make it my business to meet him, so as to not miss out an extra moment on reading my children’s communication.

So here’s the difference between the boys and the girls: The boys’ letters are short and to the point. They almost always express a request or a need for something, and they say precious little, if anything, about their experience in camp. If I’m lucky, the word “love” appears in the letter. Most often, it’s “miss you”, which for my little one, who is still mastering the art of spelling, is spelled “mess you”.

And then there is my princess. Starting off with the cover – it always has hearts and beautiful colors on the envelope exterior. You open up the letter, and it could go into the MoMa exhibit. It has carefully colored images, which are warm, and effusive. She shares about her day, about her friends, talks about the food, and what the other girls are wearing and doing. And then it has a section talking about how much she misses home, how much she loves me, always telling me how many days are left before she comes home, and finally, asking me about my day, my life, and my week.

I’m toying with the idea of sending my boys a sample letter from my daughter, to educate them in the art of proper communication, but I have accustomed myself to the notion that boys will be boys, and girls will be oh, so different.