Snail Mail

Snail mail is alive and well ! If I had any doubt about that, this week's mail wiped all doubts away... Well, almost all ...

True, there is still one all-important piece of snail mail that eludes me. (The Tennessee State Board of Nursing License) But, after today, I have to believe that it won't be long before I hold that elusive envelope in my hands as well.

Over the past several months, the contents of my mailbox have become my lifeline... There are the individual packages from my altered book round robin friends. These packages hold the most marvelous gifts of personal art and inspiration...each book entrusted to the rest of the group AND to the postal service. Each time I post my own art work or that of my "sisters-in-altered-book- projects" I hold my breath. I can't rest comfortably until I receive word (via e-mail NOT snail mail) that the book has reached its next destination.

At the moment, I am waiting for two such altered book projects: the final one in this round robin which belongs to Susan who lives in Germany & my very own slated to come home after its trip around the world: Germany, France, and the U.S.

Then there are the myriad of "Swap-bot" mailings. I was recently introduced to Swap-bot by a new cyber friend who does SoulCollage cards. In responding to one of my SoulCollage posts, I found a link to her blog, visited it and saw an exciting opportunity to share some of my own craft bits and pieces and perhaps get some new/different items in return. The swap process has offered a previously untapped resource for supplies for my various altered and collage art projects. Each day is an adventure in the mailbox when I am in the midst of another great swap! Postcards from around the world, plastic bottles filled with various and sundry "stuff" for creative projects, envelopes filled with ribbons/trims/papers .. you name it, there's a swap for it. And, in most cases, the only cost is a bit of time and the price of a stamp! What a bargain and so much fun!!

An unexpected card or note from one of my two dear friends, AnnMarie and Judy, always manages to brighten my day. They seem to somehow know just when I need to find them waiting in my mailbox! Sometimes I chuckle because their mail arrives just about the time they should be receiving a similar item from me. We are so in tune with the rhythm of life - but then, that's what soul sisters are all about, right?

But the prize this week was the letter from Caleb. My dear sweet grandson (who is turning SIX on the 27th of this month) moved to TN about six weeks ago. It has been a very L-O-N-G six weeks! It seems like an eternity since I last snuggled up with him on the couch to read a book. And even longer since I was able to hug him while telling him how much I love him.

My emotions rode the proverbial rollercoaster when I saw an envelope bearing his return address earlier this week. I was elated. Tearing open the envelope, I couldn't wait to read the contents. And, as anyone who knows me will attest, in true form, as I read his sweet little letter, I was moved to tears. Grandmas are like that, you know - we cry for all sorts of things both happy and sad. This was one of those times when the tears were bittersweet. I was thrilled to get a letter from him. I was touched by the sweetness and innocence of his words. I was saddened by the geographical distance that separates us right now. I was up and then I was down and then I was up again... All over the map as they say!

Chasing down the hall, I couldn't wait to share the letter with anyone who would take the time to read it and share in my joy. Secretly, I counted the days that it has been since Caleb and I were together... and the years that I was with him all the time... and weighed the enormity of the hole in my heart that has been created by his move.

Then, in the next breath, I reminded myself that I am working toward an eventual move to be closer to him and to be in the midst of Mother Nature in all of her glory each of the four seasons.

After raising Caleb for the first four and a half years of his now six year life, it is hard to be so far away from him. But, after raising him for all that time, it is also very comforting to know that he and I share a very special bond that no time or distance can erase.

I am thrilled that he and I can continue to stay connected - whether it be in the form of email, snail mail or phone calls until we are once again in the same location. And, in the meantime, I will continue to go to my mailbox in hopeful anticipation of another reason to smile and laugh and cry all in the same breath.