You've Got Mail!

I've always loved getting mail. Personal mail, not junk mail, although at one point, before the advent of internets and all of its' online shopping glory, even junk mail in the form of catalogs etc was welcome in my house.

I remember writing letters to my Avó and erupting with glee whenever a postcard found its way to my home. I was fascinated by the little pieces of cardboard and all that they'd been through in order to reach me. When I started traveling myself, I always made sure to send cards to my friends and family from wherever I was traveling.

So when I first heard about Postcrossing, it seemed like an ideal fit. Postcrossing is a great site set up by a couple of fun Portuguese folks to facilitate the exchange of postcards amongst like minded peeps around the world. It's been a very rewarding experience and I've even become pen pals with a few of the dozens of people who've either sent me cards or whom I've sent cards to. If you like postcards/getting real mail in your postbox, I highly recommend it. Plus it's free! Well, you have to pay for the postage on the cards you send of course, and buy some cards to send out. But you could also use old cards you've picked up but never had the chance to mail :o)

But before Baby F. was born and definitely before I joined Postcrossing, I had thought that it would be great to get some postcards for her. I've mentioned it briefly before - I asked our friends and family to send her a card either from where they lived or of something they really enjoyed, as well as a short note to her on the back. She ended up receiving 20 or so cards which I then displayed in a photo holder in her room. I also went ahead and laminated all of them, so she could play with them *and* they'd survive her infancy.

Here are some highlights from her collection:

All the way from where else, the wondrous islands of the Azores, from our cousin A.

A vonK from New York State

Couldn't resist including this adorable drawing by our dear friend A vonK, on the back of the ESB card :o)

A building dear to my heart - i once worked there - from Baby F.'s godmama

K. and N.'s current city, Hoboken

Adorable doggie with I assume cute text in Japanese :o) from L.

Always a fave, Klimt from P.

Cutest bear in all of Madrid from C.

Loneliest pigeon in NYC from S.

Beautiful Van Gogh from A. in Portugal

Horseys! From Wyoming! From dear friends K. & J.

...is all you need :o) From S. in Queens

...Is it me you're looking for? Yes :o) From S. in NYC

I'm hoping that in a few years, when she's just a little older, we'll look at all of these and she'll realize how much she was loved even before she was born. I also hope they'll inspire her to dream of exploring far off places and to want to learn about all sorts of things.