I happen to be one of those kinda folks that often pays attention to minutiae in my daily life. I find it both exciting and aggravating that I’m like that.
But it's never boring.
Take for example, this weekend. I wrote letters to my two godkids then walked over to the blue post box near my place to mail them.
As I walked, I pondered how utterly cool it is that I can write some words on a piece of paper, seal it shut, put a sticker on the front, and through the power of humans and machines in about two to three days it will make it all the way to Las Cruces, New Mexico. To my friend's house on the outskirts of town. My words will travel 1200 miles and a human will put them into a metal box on a rural road.
Wow!
Ok, I realize the US Mail has been around for a long time and it was probably, like a gazillion times more amazing back in the days when some guy rode a horse for DAYS to get a letter to someone in a remote location…like, er, Las Cruces. But still, the fact that it usually just works so effortlessly is really, really cool.
Even cooler, I recently got a package from a friend in London. How far out is that? I mean, I got a package from someone in a time zone eight hours ahead of mine. When I go to work he's going home for the day. And he sent me a book, and it came halfway around the globe (ok, not *quite* that far, don't go getting all literal on me while I'm blowing my own mind). Sure, that was UPS that made it so, but still.
Wow!
I know the interwebs make communication more instant, but there is still something really cool about a written letter or a package from a friend.
It's been great to watch my two godkids grow up and come into their own. Through their written letters I learn a lot about their personalities, the people they are becoming. I could get that talking to them on the phone, but it's fascinating what they choose to write about.
Makes me proud. And I love writing them back, too.
Thanks to the simple magic of the USPS, my relationship with my godkids grows by each postmarked letter, line by line.
Hey Mr. Postman? Thanks for that!
