Postal Service

“I get mail; therefore I am.” - Scott Adams

When Jacob first went away to school, he told me that one of the things he missed most about home was getting mail. I wasn't aware he got much mail at home. After all, it seems to me that most of my mail consists of junk, bills, bank statements and a couple of magazines. But in Jacob's case, even getting junk mail makes him feel less lonely. So I set out to make sure he gets mail. Cathy sent him a subscription to Maclean's. That ensures there will be something in his mailbox at least once a week. I send care packages. It's not always easy to come up with something to send. Often I buy gift cards for restaurant chains, movie theatres or department stores. He likes those. I've sent him a t-shirt, a scarf and a pair of Olympic mittens. His Aunt Nan sends him treats.

One of the things that surprised me is that Jacob is not the only member of his gang of friends who identified getting mail as one of the things they really miss about being at home. So I've tried hard to fill some of the gaps for them. Jonathan is the furthest from home so I pay particular attention to keeping a regular flow to his mailbox. Generally, if I send something to Jacob, I send something to Jonathan. His three friends at Waterloo have one another, so their care packages are less frequent. But today I sent them each a pair of Olympic mittens too. Jacob's friends Sara and Lindsay are both in Ottawa, albeit at different universities. I've sent things for them to share, like a movie pass for two, and a package with two scarves in different colours so they could choose between themselves. Most of the time, I don't hear from the kids when they get their packages. I just check through the post office on-line tracking system to make sure they were delivered and I leave it at that. Jacob usually tells me when he has received something, if he thinks of it. I don't hear directly from Jonathan or the Waterloo boys or Lindsay but it doesn't really matter. It makes me happy to send things and I assume it makes them happy to receive things. I always hear from Sara who sends me wonderful, long, newsie notes whether or not she has received a package. I send Sara a fair bit of mail as I know she more than anyone, loves to get it. And frankly, it's easy to find things to send to a teenage girl - I can always find a bauble for her hair or a t-shirt in a pretty colour or even a small throw to keep away the chill in her dorm room.

Before the school year started, I had never really mailed very many packages. I find it all quite interesting. The cost of mailing packages has a lot to do with one's choice of post office. It costs a lot less to mail a package from the post office in the Shopper's Drug Mart in Bayview Village than it does to mail one from the post office at the Shopper's Drug Mart in Fairview Mall. While the weight is the weight, the price of the package is also influenced by the dimensions of the package including the depth. The ladies at Bayview Village invariably calculate the depth of the package as far slimmer than do the ladies at Fairview Mall. I also think it is interesting that cost is determined by the distance the package travels in Canada (though that is not the case if you are mailing a letter or an item outside the country). Mailing a pair of mittens to Jonathan in Halifax, cost me more than the mittens did. For less than the price of mailing one pair by snail mail to Halifax, I mailed three pairs to Waterloo by express service. I'm getting to be an expert at packaging things in the most cost effective way. And frankly, I'm impressed with how efficient the postal service has been.

I like sending things to the kids. I miss them all so much. I want them to know that even though they are far away, they are always on the radar screen of their other mother.