Good mail and other news

Christmas is starting to catch up with me. Yes, I know it comes on December 25 each year and I do realize this is the first week of December, but it always feels like there is so much to do and no time to do it in.

So, last night I decided to start making a dent in all of my holiday chores. I started by assembling the Christmas CDs that I make each year for family and friends. Next on my list, which I checked twice, was preparing gifts to be mailed. I am a little obsessive about making sure that things arrive in time, so I wanted to get these into the hands of the US Postal Service as soon as possible. I carefully labeled and tissue-wrapped the scarves I had knitted and assembled all of the other goodies to be mailed.

I wrestled with the big tube of brown paper and I finally had them all wrapped, addressed and ready to be mailed by our trusty postal elf, Cynical.

Now comes the good part. . . waiting for them to arrive at their final destination. I love hearing that someone received their parcel of Christmas goodies. I made most of my gifts this year, so I am even more antsy to hear how they were received. I treated friends to scarves, stationery cards using photos I made throughout the year and the CDs I assembled. Oh, I also snuck in a few other little surprises that I didn't make as well. Everything from Burt's Bees lotions to picture frames to books to ornaments were included in those brown boxes ready to mail as I left this morning.

I wrap all of my gifts in brown paper, not only the ones that I am sending far and beyond. I like the idea of them looking so simple, tied off with twine and names written in script across them or on little tags attached. I have done this for so long that everyone recongizes my gifts instantly. Maybe it's an homage to how much I like "good mail" or maybe it's just the simplicity that attracts me. Maybe, as Martha says, it's just a good thing.