Evites, Facebook birthday wishes, thank you texts, catch up emails… many of our generation lament the loss of paper invitations, formal thank you notes, birthday cards and an occasional newsy letter. I have boxes of thin, blue, “by air only” letters that my Belgian parents sent each other in the 1950s and those my mother, after moving to the US, exchanged with her parents.
Years ago, when there was talk in the US of mail delivery being moved from 6 days a week to 5 days, I was heartbroken for my older relatives who loved getting the mail. I remembered my mom having coffee and “going through the mail,” I remembered my grandfather wearing a jacket and hat to go to the post office to buy stamps or send letters, I remembered my childhood dog to whom you could not say “mailbox” or she would think she was going on a little walk, and thought about the slogan that many of us remember about the duty of mail carriers, something about “neither snow nor rain…”.
Over time as digital communication increased, my paper mail decreased. My mailbox was pretty much empty except for the occasional catalog, real estate flier, or dental office new patient special. It was a period of time when I wouldn’t ...