A tribute to my mailman

Hey everyone, my post below is borderline creepy, just so you know. It's all in fun though and I hope it makes you laugh. But if you feel the need to stop reading my blog because of my psychosis, I understand. ;) I also wanted to let you know that if you're listed on my blog roll to the right, be looking for a shout out/tribute of your own sometime soon. It may or may not involve embarrassing pictures, depending on who you are and how well I know you and if I even have said pictures to post. ;) I need my husband to figure out why I can't get our scanner to work first though. I wanted to do something fun and introduce you to each person on my blog roll. This will be coming soon!

In the meantime, enjoy some more of my general weirdness, as you're about to read....




I love my mailman. You think I'm joking, but I'm not. If my husband wouldn't be totally freaked out by it, I might even say I have a crush on my mailman. But I'm not saying that, hon, I'm not. It's not that he's some cute, hot young thing walking around in his USPS uniform shorts. He's not. He is however a middle aged man who is simply the nicest mailman I've ever met. (Is it totally un-pc to say mailman these days? It probably is, huh?)

One of the positive aspects of living in an older home is that I have my very own mailbox, not some tiny square space in a community mailbox that is a decent trek away from my front door. And not only do I have my own, but it is attached to the front of my house!

For fun, a really bad picture of my rusty, old, nasty, covered in cobwebs mailbox. My husband and I have been saying we'd replace it for a very long time. Obviously it hasn't happened yet.

See, it's pretty convenient to get the mail, huh? I don't even have to step outside, just open the door and grab my mail. Do you like the horse buggy? Isn't it cute? I should at least spray paint the whole thing to spruce it up a bit.
Anyway, back to Roy. Yes, his name is Roy, the mailman, not the mailbox in case you were confused. I love getting mail. I anticipate it almost every day. I know I usually have mail in my box by 2 pm. Of course most of the mail I get is junk mail, fliers and bills, but I love it just the same. And Roy is the man who brings it to me. He's so nice. He knocks on my door if I've forgotten to put a stamp on a letter I'm mailing (please tell me I'm not the only person forgetful enough to do this) so that I can quickly get one. Then he can take my letter instead of having it returned to me from the Post Office with a ? written where the stamp should go. If he's bringing me a package that can't be left at the door and he sees that my car is not in my driveway, he will come back later to see if I'm home so I don't have to wait till the next day to have it redelivered. We wave to each other if I happen to drive by him on his route. The man even left a Christmas card from him and his family in my mailbox last year! *sigh* Doesn't he sound wonderful?

I genuinely just love checking my mailbox and seeing what I got that day. I sometimes stalk it. I glance out my peephole to make sure no one is nearby, open the door slowly and take a quick peek to see if I have mail yet. I can do this 2 or 3 times in one day if I'm really desperate. If I hear the sound of my mailbox being opened and shut or if I notice Roy's shadow through my windows as he is walking across the front of my house, I count the seconds till I know he's far enough away and it's safe to open my door and snatch my precious mail, that way he does not think I am completely crazy for wanting my mail this instant.

Last week he delivered a package during a horrible dust storm. We talked for a few seconds about the awful dust and wind and as he walked away I called out in a concerned voice, "Be careful!" I'd hate for dust and dirt to blow into Roy's eyes. Those mail carriers have to do their job no matter the weather.

I even worry about how awful my front yard looks because I wonder what Roy thinks of it. What about my nasty cobweb covered mailbox? Does he hate putting my mail in it? I try to clean it off every once in a while because even I am afraid to stick my hand in it.

I've read about people tipping their mail carrier or giving him or her a Christmas gift. I used to scoff and think, why on earth should I tip someone for doing their job? That is what they get paid to do! But Roy, with his going above and beyond what he is supposed to do, makes me want to get him a gift certificate this year to thank him. USPS regulations limit gifts to postal employees at $20. Hmmm. I wonder if I should add him to my Christmas list?

And I know I have the tendency to tell stories with a dramatic flair, but this is all basically true. I've even had a couple of dreams that Roy was in. :S Perfectly innocent ones, mind you! I am not attracted to him at all, I promise!

Is the dreaming about him thing a little weird? Or is it more the whole blog post dedicated to him?

I'm hopeless.

And completely pathetic, I know. Just keeping it real here.

But I do still really like Roy. He's just a nice old man.

*sigh*