Snowbird, Freebird - #7 1-25-13

   The Saga of the Mail and What It's Taught Me
I, like most people, take so much for granted.  Turn on the tap, poof:  water.  Flip the switch, poof:  lights.  Go to the grocery, chicken is all cleaned and packaged.

 I bet you rarely even think about, much less appreciate, getting your mail.  Sometimes there are bills, and that's not fun.  And sometimes there's a birthday card from grandma.  Sometimes it's a magazine you subscribe to, and sometimes it's an 8 pound seed catalog.  The whole idea of mail is probably an anachronism, but I bet you still get mail.  What do you think would happen to you if your mail just stopped coming?

So here I am, 1400 miles from home, having dutifully filled out my temporary change of address card before I left, naively thinking I would actually receive my mail at some point, in my temporary home.  Ah, if only.  I have spoken to more postal workers than I ever thought I would (or should).  I even have a case number with the postal service - pretty official, right?  I've been to the local post office in person, I've stalked the local carrier, hoping for some sympathy and understanding.  I was on hold for 47 minutes with the Miami Consumer Affairs Office, whose voice message assured me that my call was important to them and I would be speaking with the next available representative "shortly".  The 47 minutes wouldn't have been so bad, except every minute and a half I'd hear how important my call was. 

Nobody knows what the problem is, they're all pointing their fingers at each other.  Bottom line is:  no mail.

Today I made a monumental decision.  I have given up the fight.  Uncle I cry.  Today I made the choice to give in to what it is, rather than insisting it be what I want it to be.  Instead of agonizing about what I'm missing about my missing mail, I have decided not to engage in this fruitless endeavor.  I've always been a windmill tilter, fighting for the principle of things.  That's gotten me into more trouble than I care to admit.  What I'm learning is that not every fight is worth fighting.  The satisfaction doesn't have to come from getting what I think I deserve, or have a right to - the satisfaction comes from letting go. 

So I will notify the post office to keep sending my mail to my home address, and stop the madness of trying to get mail sent to Florida.  I will ask my son to check the mail, notify me of the important stuff, and hang onto the rest. 

And when I get home, I will bring some cookies into the post office and personally thank them all for doing their jobs so well, that I forgot to notice.