8 Days: Christmas Cheer in My Mailbox!

Does anyone remember the days when you would open your mailbox and have a letter from a loved one?  Maybe a postcard from a friend on vacation.  A note from your pen pal.  Care package.  Thank you card.

Nowadays it's more likely that you'll get a greeting via text.  thnx 4 ur gift.  happy bday.  i mis u. Or maybe a generic shout out online.  A status update.  A poke.  A tweet.

Don't get me wrong.  I love me some technology.  But there's just something special about getting mail that isn't a bill, a credit card offer, or a grocery store ad.  You know, something personal.  Something to smile about.

"I'm going to go check the mail, Brian," I said, putting on my coat.

Brian looked up with a puzzled expression. "But Jack, we already got this week's ads.  They come on Tuesdays."

"I know.  Call me crazy, but I'm still holding out that maybe I'll get a Christmas card in the mail or something," knowing full well that there wouldn't be anything in there but junk.  Or nothing at all.

After trucking through the snow, I discovered that I did have mail.  I was sent a... travel magazine.  Great.  Where am I going to travel?  Hawaii?  In my dreams...  But just as I was about to shut the mail box door I saw it.  Pushed way back.  A handwritten envelope.  It was a Christmas card, I could tell.

I ran back in, all smiles, and said, "Brian!  I got what I wanted!  I got what I wanted!"  You would have thought I had gotten a check in the mail for a million dollars the way I was celebrating.  Instead it was a Christmas card from my Aunt Karen and her family.  Hopefully it's the first of many.

Yay for Christmas cheer in my mailbox!