Happiness is...a package in the mail!

There's something magical about the possibilities contained within a plain brown box or mailing envelope.

I love to speculate for just a moment or two before ripping into the thing about just what might be inside (yes, I do this even when I know what is inside, somehow most of the magic is still there!) It's akin to the excitement you feel coming across in the old song from The Music Man where they sing about the Wells Fargo Wagon.  It could be something as banal as a magazine, a bundle of letters, tickets to something or someone you've been longing to see, homemade goodies from a loved one, a semi-selfish splurge of something fancy yet frivolous, or (and this is my dream and I have this book to thank for it) even a penguin!

While I'm not looking for raisins from Fresno or a cannon for my courthouse square (though how cool would that be!?) "It could be something for someone who is no relation [packages for my roommates are almost as much fun] but it could be something special just for me!"**

Almost as exciting as getting a package however, is sending one off.  I love to put together fun little surprises to (hopefully) boost someone's day; cards, candy, silly toys and totally unnecessary items as well as little things I know the givee will love and appreciate.  I love the anticipation of waiting to hear back about how it was all received.

Just take a look at some of the goodies that came (and went) through my mail this past week...

Some I ordered for myself (James Roday, I'm looking at you!), some were sent to me and some I sent off to others.  But each one did their part to make my day a little bit brighter and add a tiny bit of excitement to my generally humdrum existence.

What's the most exciting thing you've ever gotten in the mail?  Are you expecting something soon?  Have you ever sent something absolutely wonderful to someone else?

With the art of letter writing a quickly dying art thanks to email and skype and all, packages are the best things to come to most people's mailboxes anymore.  (Hmmm, handwritten letters need a post of their own I think.  Love, love, love getting letters in the mail too!)  So, give your mail person a hug.  Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor...well, you know, and God bless our US Postal system!


**With a grateful nod to Meredith Wilson!