Feeling the Love

So I had a feeling I'd have some mail after being gone for two weeks, but at best I figured a credit card statement, LES, and something from one of my banks. The last thing I expected was a stack of real mail when I opened my desk drawer looking for my calculator. Then and there my travel claim was put on hold as I read letters from some of my most favorite people in the world. Seriously- today was my first day I had letters from non family members complete with drawings and even presents*.

Birth announcements, advice from a best friend (btw, thanks Erin), a sketch of Kazoo, inside jokes, family updates and nicknames gallore made me miss it all for a minute. But then I realized that some of my favorite things from "home" were enclosed in those envelopes so I had the best of my two lives!

And can we just all appreciate that magnet? Thanks LT 1.0---way to be the first one to officially call me out on my enabler status. It made me laugh out loud...but luckily none of my coworkers made me explain what was going on. Wait. Is that a good thing or have they already come to expect things like that from me?

*I'd like to make a correction- week #2 I received non family mail...but from someone I've known since age 9 so I guess I lumped her in with the family.  Yep. My brain decides to remember these things at 0400.

Fan Mail!

From time to time during this project I've felt that I'm bombarding everyone with posts. I mean let's face it- do you all really care about the type of gelato I ate that day or how many mosquitoes bit my leg? I then have to remind myself that ultimately these posts are for me. The end goal is to still remember all these details/feelings when my brain has archived them and as the decades pass I can't recall where they were filed.

At any rate, so many of you have given feedback in our chats/emails/Facebook life and it's really encouraging. I love the fact that some of the first comments my folks gave me were in response to my improved writing skills- they have come a long way! Well, this week I received my first official "fan mail" when USPS tracked me down in Virginia. Among the important documents I had a great note from one of my biggest fans-

To the untrained eye this may look primitive, but this original shows a turn in his work. Unlike his previous work, the subject actually has structure and is not an amorphous blob. Way to go Dad! I think this is most definitely going to make my "don't count the miles, count the I love yous" wall. Besides making me laugh when I see it, it will serve as a reminder to lay off the espresso from time to time so I don't look get this crazy eye look.