An Emotion-Filled Letter to My Niece
A Very Happy Easter is a book about the hours leading to Jesus' crucifixion and his resurrection. The book focuses on the emotions Jesus’s friends felt during those final days and invites children to embrace their emotions as they read the story. I decided to read the story with my teenage niece Olivia. After we watched and listened to a read on youtube, we talked about the book, how she’s been dealing with her emotions and how she would have felt had she been watching the events in Jerusalem with Jesus’s friends. Then I wrote her a letter.
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Dear Olivia,
I’m so glad we got to take a minute to read the book A Very Happy Easter together and I’m glad you liked the book. When I got this assignment and had to pick a book, I knew this book was the one! It reminded me of you and all the work you’ve been doing to identify and embrace your emotions. You’ve come a long way, my love, and I’m so proud of you. I agree with you about liking how the author kept the story as close to the original as possible. I didn’t get to say so, but I also love how the characters looked like us! That is a bonus.
When I think about all of our chats over the past few months, hearing you say how much you could relate to the sadness Jesus’ friends felt made sense. I know sadness is an emotion you have tried to ignore. I remember so many times when I knew you were sad and you would just say, “I don’t care.” Do you remember that? I know your friends are so important to you and I know how sad you feel when you have to say goodbye to them even though you know those goodbyes are just for a little while. Your face looks like one of the characters in the book and today, so did mine even though I try to put on a happy face for you. Jesus' friends felt the same even though they didn’t know their goodbyes were temporary.
But then there are the happy times we feel because we know how the story ends even though Jesus’ friends didn’t know it at the time. I know you’re looking forward to happier times and all of the “next times” you’re going to spend with your friends. And the happiest times are coming when you’ll be laughing together again. Maybe this summer? I hope that gives you a reason to feel as excited as Jesus’ friends when they saw him after the resurrection. The book doesn’t say anything about how they felt about Judas. We don’t even have to guess!
When you left today, I felt a little sad to see you go but also happy about the time we spent together. I’ve been amazed at how much you’ve grown. Every time we’re together, I see more and more and more of how God is working in your life. You sound so happy when you talk about how you’re meeting your goals and how well you’re doing in school. Keep up the good work. I can’t wait to see your beautiful, happy face again soon on Easter Sunday.
Love,
Titi Kym
Rev. Kym McNair
Rev. McNair is the descendant of enslaved Africans, Jamaican immigrants, community organizers, preachers and teachers and carries their legacies as she works to address the oppressions that are impacting all of humanity, and especially the ways systemic racism disempowers Black women and girls. She owes her community organizing energy to her mother, E. Theresa McNair, who SAFETY-planned her way out of Jim Crow Mississippi (Goddam) during the end of the Great Migration, came to New York and worked on behalf of incarcerated women and local residents who experienced the trauma of poverty manifested in hunger and homelessness. Professionally, Rev. McNair organizes on behalf of all people who have experienced the imposition of power and control in their intimate relationships with their partners and in the constellation of systems they are forced to interact with every day.
Rev. McNair Kym has spoken on panels, facilitated conversations for religious and civic organizations across Westchester and has consulted with local congregations which are endeavoring to incorporate anti-racism principles into their ministries. Kym serves on the Board of Directors of Caring for the Hungry and Homeless (CHHOP) and the Westchester Womens Agenda based in Westchester County, New York where she is a member of the Reproductive Justice and Race Equity Working Groups.
A lifelong fan of sci-fi and fantasy, she enjoys Afro- and African futurism fiction where the protagonists are women of various hues. Whether she is out walking her rescue dog, Simba or tending to her gardens, she dreams of a world in the not-so-distant future when like the protagonists in her favorite literary genre, Black women’s voices are heard, their leadership is followed, and their lives are protected.