On Saturday, Sullivan, my three-year-old, received a special, handmade card in the mail. It was from his Mother’s Day Out teacher and classmates at Oklahoma City’s First Christian Church.
Sully only attended Mother’s Day Out for two months – twice a week for five hours each day, and that was nearly two months ago. Once I wrapped up a big project, I didn’t need the childcare, but we loved their program. Despite how short our time was there, it was hard to say goodbye.
First Christian is housed in a modern building, which Sully affectionately calls the egg church. It’s not far from our home, and every time we pass it, Sully shouts, “The egg church!” I’ve never seen him as happy as when he received their letter. In the most serious tone I’ve ever heard him use, he said, “Mom, I think my friends really miss me.”
His teacher, Ms. April, is very special, and when I think about her, I think about how she represents everything that is right in the Heartland. With golden hair cascading to her waist, she sported ropers and Levi’s on a regular basis. A mother of six children, she always offered a word of faith and mentioned her prayer life as frequently as some Okies talk about the weather. She often pointed to her simple, rural life, in an apologetic though proud and content kind of way. I thought she was lucky to live in the country, and I wish I’d had more time to get to know her.
Recently, I heard about a project called A Little Me. A blogger in Australia has offered to send a little something to anyone willing to give her their address. She requires nothing in return. She’s doing it because she likes to give things away. Imagine this: she wants to make your day.
There is something very exciting about getting something in the mail other than junk and bills. I will never forget how that card made Sully feel nine feet tall. In this day and age of instant messaging, tweeting, and email, personal snail mail may be the most stunning and effective way to connect.
Sounds like a great teacher and childcare. It’s really nice to have someone that really cares about your kid.
What a sweet little boy you have. I still treasure notes given to be by teachers. What a cool idea from Austrailia! Getting a package or letter in the mail makes you feel special. I think that email and comments on blogs lack something that our senses crave. “A little bit” of the sender, maybe. Also, do you find that it is easier for people to be mean and detached in electronic notes?
Oh what a smile. Getting something in the mail is increasingly rare.
@Alice – Thank you. Yeah, I know. You can usually enlarge and then save/copy, especially when I link from Flickr. I bought the software to watermark, but haven’t used it yet. Soon!
A nice story, & interesting thought about snail mail– it does seem to be getting “irrelevant,” & yet it is heart-warming to receive something in the mail from someone we care about. It just doesn’t happen very much anymore.
Hey I just thought you ought to know that although the button saying right click has been disabled comes up… it hasnt and it is possible to copy pictures from your blog.
Jen, it was exciting seeing him run though the house with his letter. Happy that they remembered him. Rob