Some Random Thoughts on Mail Art.....

Those of you that are parents might understand. Remember when you took your child to school for the first time, and had to leave him/her there? The child was fine, eagerly looking forward to school, but you yourself were a wreck having to leave your precious child in the hands of others for even just a few hours?

Well, that's how I felt late this afternoon, at the post office. I stood in line, waiting for my turn. I was hoping I would get the woman clerks, the man probably wouldn't know what to do! Finally it was my turn, and I walked up to the window and handed the lady my 'baby', my lovely piece of mail-art. I said "could you please hand stamp this?" with a quiver in my voice and a lump in my throat. I was having separation anxiety, having to hand over this piece of myself to a perfect stranger. The lady was very kind, and commented on how lovely the piece was, and asked who did the needlework. She was a bit flustered, and said, "I can't stamp this, it will get ink on it and it's far to pretty to mess up!" I assured her that was okay. She tried to talk me into putting it into another envelope or at the very least into a zip lock bag so it wouldn't get dirty and I almost wavered, but in the end I said "No, it needs to go through the mail just like it is, and we will hope for the best."

I turned and walked away, trying not to cry. My stitched envelope will be fine, and I hope that every person in the US Postal System that encounters the envelope treats it with love and care until it reaches it's final destination.