Our Mailman....

I'm not sure that most people these days really know their mail carrier. We probably wouldn't know ours if it hadn't been for our youngest son, Colton. It was three years ago, he was four and our only child, at the time, not enrolled in all-day school. For whatever reason, he began a fascination with running outside to see the mailman. There he would be in his little underwear, running down the driveway to the mail box.  At first, I stood back by the front door and just watched. I'm not sure what the two of them said to one another, but Colton would carry the mail back to me and our mailman would leave with a smile and a wave.

This continued and Colton soon started returning with mail and candy. Candy only exacerbated his quest to be at the front door, ready to catch the mailman before he passed our house. Amazingly, our little guy was usually right on the money and able to collect mail and candy on a regular basis. Being the protective mom that I am, I had ventured out to the box early on and also got the opportunity to meet our mailman, Connor.

Connor is a colorful guy and over the years we've come to know him a little better. We've invited him in at Christmas when we had our company party at our home on a Saturday morning, a small gathering of our employees and their wives. The first year he stopped, he brought a package to the door in the middle of our gathering. He stepped inside and took a seat as we gave him some hot apple cider. After that first visit, he always asks when the party will be and, sure enough, he rings the bell, never missing a chance to join in the fun. Last year his route was extra busy and he didn't arrive until the party was over, but he came in anyway and filled his plate with the leftover food as we shared some good conversation and laughs. 

Over the years, we've learned that his wife is a teacher, they have three daughters close in age to our kids and they just bought their first home. He enjoys football and always has a jersey on, which may be one of the initial reasons Colton liked him so much. We've left him football tickets in our box when we've been unable to use them, cookies on a rainy day and he always leaves a gift in the box at Christmas, for his little friend Colton. 

This morning, on our first official day of summer, Colton started yelling, "Mom, the mailman. Can you unlock the door?" So I did and off he ran. He came back with the mail and four Tootsie Rolls - one for each of the kids. Connor drove off with a wave and a smile.

It's nice that our mailbox isn't used just for mail, but also for little gestures of kindness to brighten someone's day. I'm glad that Colton helped us make the effort to get to know our mailman and I'm pretty sure that our mailman is glad, too.