mail – Sow, Sew, So

How do you feel when you open your mailbox? A little sick, thinking of bills or letters riddled with guilt or people asking for money? Or are you hopeful and excited thinking about all the fun stuff that could be there?

I love getting the mail. I always have. If I get home from work first, I look forward to walking down the sidewalk in front of our house to our little red mailbox. If I don’t get home first, I bug Bruce saying “Did we get anything good?” Good to me means a lot of stuff other than bills and political flyers (thank goodness that’s over). Good could mean a card or letter from a far away friend. A magazine. A pile of flyers from the grocery stores. A surprise package. Some photos in an envelope. Stickers. Free samples. Some online shopping.

This week, I have been loving mail even more than ever. For my grandmother’s 100th birthday, I nominated her to receive greetings from MoreLoveLetters.com. I’ve been writing love letters for them for a while now and I thought how fun it would be for her to receive a big pile of love notes in the middle of winter. Here are a few examples of what we’ve gotten:

They want the nominators to gather up all the letters into “bundle” and present them. So it’s my job to open each letter and read them. And I have. I read them out loud to Bruce. Grandma has gotten letters from all over the place. Kids have drawn her pictures and made her cards. Other seniors have written her heartfelt letters in beautifully loopy script. Caligraphers have lettered cards for her. Surly teenagers have written letters filled with sweet and meaningful words. Men, women, children, they’ve all poured their hearts out and written words that will certainly uplift a centenarian.

It’s been a lovely experience picking up the mail every day. And despite the images on the television that tell me otherwise, those letters and cards tell me that there are tons of wonderful people out there. They know that even with one single letter they can make a difference in someone else’s life. These aren’t random acts of kindness. They are purposeful. They are determined. They are filled with love. I can feel it.