And the bell tolls...

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You might enjoy reading this thought-provoking article Bell tolls for the U.S. Mail, as we know it in USA TODAY

It's no surprise to most of us that the USPS is in trouble and that the local post office, as we have known it, is fading from view.

This article by Rick Hampson reads in part:

"The most predictably disappointing part of David Gerber's day is when he opens his mailbox.

This is what the Postal Service calls "the mail moment," when we collect, sort and open our mail. For generations, this moment has bound us together as people and a nation.

"It's when we learned what Grandma sent us, who wanted to be our valentine, where we'd gotten into school, whether we'd be drafted. It's when we heard who had been born and who had died, and whether the check really was in the mail."

I especially enjoyed the visual image Hampson created when he wrote: "Each household's mail moment has its rules and rituals — who opens what, whether it's left on the kitchen counter or hall table. It's when someone calls, "Anything good in the mail?" The answer, usually, has been yes."

Can't you just see it? Can't you just hear it?  I never thought about it before, but our family does have a mail ritual. Bet yours does too.

The thought-provoking part of Hampson's article comes when he then writes: "Americans say they love to receive mail, yet send less and less of it."

Oh, won't the USPS be surprised during the month of March, because we're about to change that!

So keep checking in--I will continue to send tips during February Prep Month on getting our desks and stationery organized, on making lists of people we want to bless with a handwritten letter, on ways to track those we have written and ways to find time to add this to already busy days.

Then we'll all be ready to go on March 1, with just pen, paper, and a stamp.

Oh, by the way, I haven't completely given up on creating handmade stationery. I have a couple of easy techniques up my sleeve to share in the days to come. Stay tuned...

If you would like to join me in making March Letter-Writing Month, just subscribe by email and you won't miss a pen stroke.