When I was growing up, I had a Michigan cousin whose family visited my Kentucky Aunt Genie on her rural Shepherdsville plot of land usually twice a year for a Carlisle Reunion. Most of my other Carlisle aunts and uncles lived in Greater Louisville or about an hour and a half away in Lexington. And the Grand Ole Opry vocal artist Bill Carlisle lived right outside of Nashville, Tennessee. So, reunion attendance was numbered in the dozens.

In addition to eating lots of mouth-watering homemade food made from Aunt Genie’s vegetable garden, there was an abundance of hugging, laughing, and singing. My cousin and I had a creative way of extending these visits by sending letters through the mail–not to each other–but to our little modeling clay turtles who resided in reserved spots in our respective kitchen refrigerators! As we were early primary school age, we were old enough to write in print style and spell decently.

I don’t remember what we named our turtles. Wish I did!

And, of course, there are no photos of those little creatures–just memories of the pen-pal toy turtles. Maybe that long-ago spark of creativity has come to fruition. After a career in teaching and managing a home with a husband and three children and later conducting summer break “Nonny Days” with grandchildren, I finally managed to find the time to become a self-published writer a few years ago–writing children’s books and a weekly blog post. I guess those turtles were preparing me for my future.

Pen-Pal Turtles
Connie Carlisle Polley, 2025
ConnieCarlislePolley.com
NonnyDay.com

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