Snail Mail

Submitted by Michelle

Lately I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed by my life. Things to do, phone calls to return, e-mails to answers, bills to pay, cards to design...sound familiar? Last Wednesday I had to literally unplug my cell phone and computer and just take a break. It seems as if this age of technology and twitter and blogging and texting and e-mailing and facebooking makes for a life without stillness.

I believe the lack of stillness is what makes me feel as if I am drowning in my own life. I let myself get too caught up with keeping up. Don't get me wrong, I love technology and and all the instantaneous information and satisfaction it supplies, not to mention the ease it brings to many aspects of my life, but I do find that it can also be a source of self-inflicted guilt. Guilt over not responding quickly to e-mails. Guilt over not posting daily on the blog. And even guilt over not staying caught up in the news.

Cut to the good old fashioned mailbox. You know, the one outside your front door, or in my case, across the street from my house. Last week I opened it up and found not a bill or an application for a credit card or a 20% off coupon to Bed, Bath & Beyond, but an actual envelope that had a person's handwriting on the outside! It was addressed to moi and inside I found this:
Cute, right? My friend Valarie made the card and sent it to me. Tucked inside was a gift card to Starbucks, my favorite morning haunt. The card not only made my day, it made me sit down and take a break from my busyness to read it. It was such a thoughtful thing for Valarie to do and was a reminder of the "olden days" when the only mailman delivered our letters and the only place to make a phone call outside of ones own home was a phone booth!

On Friday, I found another handaddressed envelope in my mailbox. Here's what was inside:
Another amazing creation from Valarie. And another boost to my week. And another reminder that I need to stop every now and then and enjoy the slower things in life...like snail mail and gardening and taking long walks with the dogs...all without my cell phone!