A Post post

postboxes from Flickr group, via Ministry of Type

1.

I'm reading Roald Dahl's biography Boy aloud to the kids and found it endearing that he wrote to his mother every week for 32 years, from the first week (at age 9!) when he was sent to boarding school until her death. She kept all of those letters (more than 600 altogether) in piles bound with green tape in the original envelopes. It makes me long for old fashioned mail. What will we do without lovely piles of letters to read through? Will our emails survive?

Resolved: I'm going to send more real mail.

2.

If you have younger kids, you might like this pretty wonderful card table post office. Also check out the felt mail and mail bags. I wish my kids still wanted to make believe. Or, for the grown-up version, how about this fantastic 1880 post office wall?

As a compromise, I'm acting on an idea I saw ages ago: putting mailboxes inside the house (maybe one per person near their bedroom?) for leaving notes and papers. Or maybe one or two of these great Swedish mailboxes would do the trick. Let the secret admirer/complaint department/compliments/wish making begin!

3.

Finally, I cannot look at the sight of those glorious red postboxes without a surge of affection for G. When I was in London for six months and he was here in the US of A he was a devoted pen pal. He called, wrote or recorded something for me on tape Every Single Day. I wasn't quite as good about the frequency of return post but those red boxes temporarily held many of my dearest thoughts and fragilest hopes, on their way to him.

I wonder if they're selling one of those on eBay? {Hmm. Just found this.}

Comments

[Michelle]

ooh, I love love love the idea of post boxes next to every bedroom. I'll be copying you. ;)

[calibosmom]

This makes me want to go to London. We tried mailboxes-everyone just put their junk in them. You should have a NO JUNKMAIL policy.

[Lindsay-ann]

At those prices I could see many disappearing from our streets over night!
Lindsay
x

[Linsey]

My parents have been writing to me every week since I was 17 and apart from my "lost year," I have saved all their letters. Amazingly, they also write to each of my 5 siblings and now all 5 (and counting) grandchildren. Letters are a dying art and certainly worthy of resurrecting.

[the wrath of khandrea]

i have a box of letters from my mission. they are dear to me. most valuable are the ones my dad wrote weekly.

also, letters from skip's deployments are pricelses. it gives us an opportunity to communicate in a way we ordinarily don't. i love mail the way you do.

[Nells-Bells]

love this. i especially love the card table post office! so creative and awesome.

[seven smiles]

yes, yes, and yes!

Ooh, and I so *heart* those red post boxes!

[Anonymous]

Brad wrote to me every week on his mission, I wasn't as devoted either...
Jen

[Robin]

Thanks for this wonderful post post. You have motivated me to write a few letters. Long old fashioned letters.

[Christie]

I agree. This email this is great, but sad to not have a yelllowing paper to read years later. I love your idea of the red mailboxes by each room. Totally want to steal that idea.

[ellen]

I'm all about "real" mail. :)

[gab]

I am amazed at how I can motivate my kids to write when I let them use real stationery, stamps and the chance to put them in our cardboard kitchen mailbox.

I am a seriously postal person! Thanks for the reminder.