My procrastination came out in true form today. I had just put Lily down for a nap and happened to glance out the storm door to see the Mailman going down the opposite side of the street. The image of that thank you note I've intended to write all week flashed through my mind. Could I find my stationary, a working pen, and a stamp, plus gather my thoughts before the little white truck pulled up to our mailbox? Well, I was sure gonna try.
I managed to find everything I needed and captured my grateful spirit in record time. Now, to the bedroom to get a stamp. As I rounded the living room corner, I saw Mr. Mailman pulling away from the curb, but I knew I could probably still catch him at the corner stop sign. Hopping shrubs and dodging dog droppings, I hustled through several yards. His brakes had just finished screeching when I called out, "Hey!" (Wasn't sure what else to say.) Once I got to the truck, I handed him my little note and internally congratulated myself. "Can I get this out today?" He took it, glanced down, paused, and looked back up at me. "Do you have a two cent stamp? Postage went up."
Oh yeah. I could vaguely remember hearing something about that somewhere at some point. "Well, I can just mail it tomorrow," and I extended my hand ready to accept my defeat. "Tell you what. I've got some extra 2centers at the Post Office. I'll stick one on there for you when I get back."
Wow. I wasn't expecting that. Maybe he could appreciate my valiant effort in chasing him down. Maybe he felt sorry for this lady who obviously paid no attention to current events. Maybe he was just a nice guy. Whatever the case, I thanked him for his kindness and went on my merry way. So, thanks Mr. Mailman for going the extra mile for a fellow citizen. And sorry, Summer, if your thank you note never gets there.
(By the way, in efforts to make up for my lack of knowledge, I did some research and discovered the Forever Stamp. Maybe I'm way behind in this too, but what a great concept. It can be used forever, regardless of how much stamp prices go up. So no more keeping up with the postage hikes. Not that I did anyway. You can check it out here).
7 comments:
this is an incredibly informative post. i had no idea?? how did we miss this piece of info?? and thanks for running through other people's lawn's for me! :)
So funny, Nat! I finally wrote two thank-you notes that I had been meaning to write for almost a month. I was so proud of myself the other day - I actually wrote them, stamped them and put the flag up on my mailbox. You can imagine my disappointment when I picked up the mail later that evening. There were the two envelopes wrapped in a rubber band with the postal woman's handwriting saying "41 cents." Dang.
And yes, they're still sitting in my kitchen in the rubber band, needing 2 cent stamps. Ugh!
And like Summer said, How do we miss this??? Shouldn't they announce it on cnn.com or something??
nat, i'm not subbing today. what are you doing!? it's tuesday by the way..
Gotta love the mailman stories! I mean when lily gets married stamps will be like $1/each . . . you've gotta be kidding that they've gone up again! (I'm so out of the loop!)
I loved imagining you hopping through shrubs and yards...I am giggling! You go girl!
Hey honey! ODE TO MAIL GIRL! ODE TO MAIL. I LOL'ed when I read this. Mainly, when I was at the post office I asked about that liberty bell stampy thingy. I walked away somewhat confused but purchased a book. Hope your friend got the letter! HUGS
well shoot! i didnt know that. i put mail in there this week and it was gone! so i guess that leaves two options: 1) they mailed it anyway which affirms your Ode. 2) they threw it in the trash.
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