Last year while sauntering casually through the supermarket, I noticed their Mother’s Day display. I stopped and browsed through the beautiful selection of Mother’s Day cards.
From hilarious to tender, heart wrenching words. I walked on; pondering the demand there was these days for cards? What with the high powered techno world we have graduated to, who sends a card?
In fact who even takes the time to write a handwritten letter these days? How does the post office keep ticking over each and every day? Do people still purchase stamps? And if so what is on these stamps?
I recall at the time we relocated from Durban to Nelspruit there wasn’t even a letter box outside our gate. No postman walked the streets of Nellies delivering the daily post.
At the time I was “oh my word can you imagine this, there is no postman, I kid you not!” I wrote back home – yip you read that correctly I wrote back home each and every week.
A weekly Newsletter albeit; via email sharing with all our loved ones back home our new adventures and life in general in our new little city, we now called home.
Another thing that blew my socks off at the time; so to speak was the first day of school when I fetched my youngest son from school. We kitted him out with the standard uniform complete with his little shoes.
When school finished I excitedly waited outside with all the other moms’ anxiously awaiting news of his first day. As the little children burst out of the school gates like a babble of geese escaping from their pen, the sound of their happy laughter filling the air, I noticed a little boy running passed barefoot.
Then another and another and another! “Chad I asked, concern in my tone – where the heck are all these kids’ shoes?”
“They don’t wear shoes mom.” – Well I soon learnt this indeed was the Lowveld – the Platte land and shoes were not a priority.
How life has progressed. Sadly the TV programmes for the younger generation are so far removed from my boys’ era. I recall Ryan eagerly sitting waiting with bated breath clutching his Postman Pat figurine for that week’s episode of “Postman Pat” to appear on the television.
When it did, we would all sing along:
Postman Pat!Postman Pat!
Postman pat and his black and white cat:
Early in the morning just as day is dawning …
To this day, I still have a little thrill when I receive a posted letter in any form. Well hmmm… let me rephrase that: Not so much a formal envelope indicating a bill; or dare I mention it – A speeding fine! However a pretty pink card, with a hand written address on the front; immediately recognising the writing on the envelope – definitely gives me a skip in my step.
So, walking down the cereal aisle my mind wandered back to the Mother’s Day display and the cards in particular. I stood choosing two cards deciding: Why not? I would send them to both my mom and mom-in-law. What a fabulous idea.
Well, as it happened time went by – as did Mothers Day! For the life of me I couldn’t recall where exactly I had placed the cards once I had returned from the supermarket that day! Until earlier this year – I found them!
Tucked carefully away in a flap in my Diary! There and then I stuck them on my fridge – therefore ensuring I would not forget them this year. And sure enough on Friday of last week, I received a call. The delighted and cheerful voice on the other side was that of my mom-in-law. “I am just phoning to say thank you! What a wonderful surprise it was receiving your card in the post – it certainly made my day.”
I rang my mom this morning to wish her, noticing she made no mention of the card? I asked: Mom did you receive my card for Mother’s day?
Oh deary my girlie I have no idea – I haven’t checked the post-box for a couple of days – I will check it today.”
Either way, whether she had received it by the time I had called her this morning or when she does check her post box and find the pretty pink envelope with my familiar writing on the envelope. I know she will get a thrill opening and reading the beautifully worded and illustrated card that was sent by a loved one.
PS: – While I was just putting the finishing touches to this article, checking to see if my i’s are dotted and my T’s are crossed, my mom has just rang me back :
Thank you my darling girl, the card is beautiful and so welcome on this rainy, grey wet Mother’s Day we are experiencing in Durban.–Thank you my girly, and remember, I love you.
