There are better children

Posted on February 16, 2012

The first posting in this blog series of Letters from Siberia was from Aldute Sukys, sitting to the right. This posting is a letter written by her younger brother, Juozukas, sitting to the left.

In this letter, Juozukas wrote:

Dear Aunt, and everyone!

I am Juozukas, and am sending greetings from the far north. From all of us, I thank you for the delicious chocolate. We have never seen anything like that. Even though our mother tried to save as much of it as possible, she did give us small pieces. We have eaten all of it. Very delicious. It has been very hot for several days. Mom is digging potatoes, and I help her. But I came home sad. My arms are thin and weak and I cannot handle the hoe. Above all, I want berries, apples, and a large field where we could all run and play freely.

With God, and with respect, Juozukas

PS  Someone wrote to you how good we are. Our mother says there are better children.

Comment: “There are better children” seems to be characteristic of the Lithuanian tradition of raising the young.