mr. postman

i love getting the mail at Christmas. it's often the highlight of my day.

i sift through the junk mail to find the Christmas cards, gather them together, and plop down in my beloved chair in the living room to begin opening the stack. i scan the return address labels to see who we will be hearing from. "will they send their annual letter?" "will they send a picture this year?" ( i feel a little like a hungry squirrel feverishly digging into its precious stash of acorns. not the most attractive picture.)

but this year, we have another reason to celebrate the sight of the mail truck, giving the mailman santa-like status in our minds. lauren should be hearing any day now from her choice colleges whether or not she is accepted. for her, and for us, these acceptance/denial letters will decide the course for at least the next four years of her life. every afternoon of these last two weeks, the first thing lauren and alan ask when they walk in the back door is, "did we hear from anyone?" "anyone," meaning the colleges. and when i say no, there are mumblings and fumes of frustration.

well, a few days ago, i was sifting through the mail to see what treasures i would take with me to my chair, and i saw the logo of one of lauren's colleges! my heart began to race. maybe today is the day! i turned the card over and saw that it was a Christmas card from the admissions office. a Christmas card from the admissions office? the entire admisions staff was down on the beach, making goofy faces and wearing Santa hats.


instantly, i was faced with an almost moral dilemma. how would i answer the inevitable question, "did we hear from any colleges today?" would i answer it straight, or have a little "fun." i thought to myself, "what would alan do?" and decided to have a little fun.

when alan walked through the door that evening, as predictable as the setting sun, he asked "did we hear from any colleges today?" "yes!" i called back, enthusiastically. "who!" he demanded. i told him which college, and he asked, "where is it?" meaning the letter. i directed him to the kitchen where it lay out on the counter, and i waited for the big reaction.

it was fun, i have to admit.

"these admissions people need to be in their offices writing letters to our kids, not down on the beach goofing off!"

oh well. like i told alan and lauren, every day that we don't hear, the likelihood that we will hear the next day increases.

that's enough for now. it's time to go get the mail.


p.s. polly and sherri- it was so fun to read your comments on the last post! please let me know if you have your own blogs.