That new wife

At 9 AM Monday morning January 3rd, I was ready to go to the post office ... where our mail since Dec. 17th was waiting ... except for four lone Christmas cards we found in our P.O. box late on Dec. 31st when we arrived back in town.

Jim thought perhaps that was all the mail we had received in 14 days, but I maintained that even if our friends and family had not sent cards, two issues of the weekly rural paper should be waiting for us. And has one ever gone two weeks without receiving a single bill?!?

With my reusable Target bag ready to hold the mail, I greeted the clerk,

"I think you have some mail for our box." 

He returned with a mail bin, full and overflowing, and I realized my Target bag was woefully inadequate.  (In addition to the cards, there were two very thick weekly farm newspapers, five magazines, two wedding gifts, a book, another small package, the normal assortment of bills and, of course, a handful of credit card offers.)

"Were you on vacation? Next time let us know and we can hold your mail."

I explained that I always did that when I lived in an apartment, but I'm not familiar with P.O. boxes.

"That's what we thought."

And I replied,

"And my husband probably isn't used to a lot of mail."

He immediately said,

"No! I said to the other clerk, 'That new wife of his must be popular,' and she said, 'One day they received more Christmas cards than I get all month.'"

And so I drove home and walked in with the full and overflowing mail bin, and spent the morning soaking up the letters and cards and pictures from so many of our family and friends.  (Thank you!!)  A very pleasant way to wrap up the holiday season.

(Jim asked if it's strange to read them all after Christmas, but that's what I'm used to, as mail takes longer to cross the ocean. So actually it's a small gift from God to help my new world seem like the one I left behind.)