It Doesn't Pay to Be Old School

 

I'm a Boomer. I'm old school and proud of it, or at least I was. I like to do things the traditional way (or at least as much as possible), but boy...things sure have changed. 

I love to send cards and letters. I've done it since I was old enough to write. It gives me joy to send correspondence through the mail. Thankfully, my hand is still steady enough to write legibly and I have a stack of assorted cards. Normally, I also keep several books of postage stamps on hand, too. I like being prepared. 

The other day, my sister texted me. She let me know of the recent USPS postage hike and recommended I either stop writing letters or stock up on stamps before the price jump. I was thankful she informed me and made a quick run to the post office to purchase more stamps. There was no way I'd ever be able to stop sending cards and letters. Some of my children suggested I send text messages or emails instead. They said even Facebook messenger was a good option, but I love the feel of ink as it spreads across paper. I just couldn't do it.  

This morning, I pulled out a stack of cards, my address book, some stamps and a pen. (I make it a point to send out at least 3 letters or cards a day and I never know who's going to get them until I pray asking God to impress upon my heart who needs encouragement that day.) 

In my purse, I had 2 more books of stamps. Since the price hike had increased them to .73 each, I was going to have to pare down my writing or up my budget for stamps. I figured I could whittle my writing to 2 a week for a while and see how that went, but it was hard. 

I poured over my address book praying, "God, who needs a word today?" As I flipped through the book, I felt the names of 2 friends being impressed on my heart. I wrote cards to them, addressed the envelopes, and peeled off 2 FOREVER stamps placing one on each envelope. FOREVER, hmmm... that meant no matter what price I paid for those stamps at the time of purchase, they'd still be good FOREVER, yeah. Right. 

I noticed on the newly printed stamps the word FOREVER has been crossed through. I assume that means the price of postage stamps will continually increase forcing people to stop writing letters or sending any correspondence they don't absolutely need to send. With inflation the way it is and some having no internet access, I wonder how many will take care of their monthly bills. Elderly rely on the USPS to help them out but at almost a dollar a letter, how will they afford it on meager Social Security or other fixed incomes? 

I understand salaries must increase for postal employees and other related mail delivery expenses, but there needs to be a cap somewhere. It's too bad we can't have an assigned neighborhood horse and rider to hand deliver mail like in the old days, but hey...in Georgia the heat would probably kill them and then, I'm sure some advocacy group would complain about the animal waste in the streets. You know how it is.