Next to "kitchening," "selling," & all the many forms those things can take, "mail" has been the number-one most played game in our home for years. Because my father is a retired carrier, & they have ambushed several men in uniform, we own several of what Free calls "Real-Deal Hats." These include: UPS, FedEx Land & FedEx Air baseball hats, plus two large, heavy bucket hats in steel & white. We also trip over felt mailboxes, linen mail bags, a crazy tote collection, blue & white-striped blazers, dad's beeping stud-finder masquerading as a scanner, & buckets & buckets of mail. I have sent out letters 6 months late due to innocent swiping for the mail game. This is how True learned our address, how he learned to write his name. How Free learned the letter "B," by "looking for the little bum." But no real letter writing, as of yet.
I always wanted a pen pal. My dad would give us exciting books outlining all the free things you can get in the mail, including letters postmarked at Christmas Village. He collected stamps from all over the world & saved them for my collections & bought me books like Griffin & Sabine. I so wanted to be a part of this ancient art. But I never told my mom about these interests, & so, I didn't have much help.
We'll see if the kid's desires to keep in touch with their friends back home isn't all the help they need. But just in case...they helped put together these Pen Pal Sets. Each set consists of two envelopes cut from one larger cloth envelope. So one has a notch on the left flap, while the other is notched on the right. Each envelope has two pockets: one for letters received, & one for supplies. We've filled them with 12 pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelopes, stationary, stickers, an address card & a colored pencil. We'll send one to each friend & keep the other here with us. We can't wait to see what comes back.
**Tip ** When the kids are with me, we use masking tape instead of pinning. It's fast, it's easy, it's safer, &, if you'll humor me, it's masculine.
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