I am going to follow the trend that is going around the blogging world and post 30 posts in 30 days.  However, they are special posts that specifically target gratitude.  I have tried to keep track a little bit on my sidebar as a little daily reminder of the things that I am grateful for.  I need to pay more attention to that and update it more than once a month. 

Today, I am grateful for mail!  Good old snail mail.  Do you know that there is hardly a thing that I enjoy more than getting a real piece of mail.  Now, to be clear, fliers, junk mail, ads (except for craft stores 🙂 and bills don’t count.  Bills REALLY don’t count.

However, I get giddy and almost tingly inside when I see a hand addressed envelope with real hand placed stamps on them.  It is very nearly the same sensation as Christmas morning.  I love it when someone actually takes the time to think about me a few days before my birthday and drop a card off at the post office.  I love it when I happen to pass through someone’s mind and I get a note telling me that I am loved.  I even love it when something shows up that I ordered from Amazon! 

I have some very distinct memories of mail that have made my day. 

*I received a card from a dear Relief Society sister that wanted to comment on one of my Sunday lessons.  She took the time to write it up and send it to me.  Cool thing is that she lives 6 houses away. 

*After having my hysterectomy a couple of years ago, a dear friend, who I had not seen in over 10 years, packaged up a few of my “favorite things” and sent them with a card saying that she loved me.  That was the coolest thing ever.  This same friend has also send me cards as pick me ups and I can’t tell you the impact it has made on my days.

*Another dear friend sent me a birthday card… in the mail… just to make sure that I got something in the mail that day.  It made my whole “half way to 70” birthday spectacular.

* Three days after my grandmother passed away, my children received Easter cards from her in the mail.  I don’t think that I stopped crying for 2 days.  She was thinking of me the day she died and wanted to let us know that she loved us.  I think she knew what was going to happen.

* I love getting postcards from my dad when he travels the world.  It is a tradition that he started when I was very small.  We used to check the mail every day while he was gone waiting for our postcard to come.

I don’t know what makes mail a little more exciting for me.  I think that it just has to do with the extra effort that someone puts into letting you know that you are cared about.  It is walking the extra 30 steps to the mailbox and paying that 42 cents (or whatever it is nowdays) to let someone know that they were on your mind.  That is what counts.  Right!