Author: Shirleyjdietz

I'm still finding out what I'm about but I think it has something to do with writing and connecting with people and serving God. I don't believe I have to understand it all in order to do it and am pretty content with what comes my way, day by day. I believe there is a God who created all of us, the world we live in, the science we think disproves Him, well, everything. I know my natural tendency is to think I don't need God and I need to be saved from that. I know I need a savior and I'm thankful I have one. The small glimpses I get from the here and now of what my real home is going to be like when God restores it all - that's what fuels me, stirs my sense of adventure, and keeps me going. Until then, I write about what is.

Back to RiverBend

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I finished the trip to North Carolina yesterday. The second half of the trip is always the prettiest, and challenging in a completely different way than going through the flat midwest. Coming down off high ground on I-64 is a little like a scary carnival ride. The traffic always seems to be almost bumper to bumper, around serpentine curves and at 60 – 70 miles per hour. Also, like the roller coasters, it’s expensive, with a $5 toll booth every few miles. Focusing that hard on driving gets me all tensed up, and I’m aware of all the beautiful views I’m missing.

The end of the second day of driving is the city of Greensboro itself, and I usually hit it at rush hour. That’s not relaxing either, unless you count the time sitting in a long line and measuring your progress in feet instead of miles. 

I was tired that night but it always takes me a couple of hours to position my things in new surroundings. I didn’t lie down to sleep until nearly midnight. My room is in the basement, and so is the room where the two outside dogs sleep. Penny, the loud lab who eats rocks, has been wearing a bark collar lately and it has been quite effective. But tonight the battery was weak and she started barking around 4 am. I have a soft heart toward anything that needs to pee and can’t, so I got up and let both dogs out. That required a trip outside in the fresh night air which left me wide awake and unable to fall asleep again. My fitbit said I got 3.5 hours of sleep. It said it was a fair night. I’m not sure I agree. 

I was glad that I arrived at River View Farm with a nearly full tank of gas. I’ll have to remember to do that whenever I come. I never know how quickly I’ll be doing some errand for the family, like early this morning.  I got to play taxi for Tessa, Julie’s elderly dog with a swollen back leg. Kevin loaded her up in my car and I drove her to south Greensboro to the emergency vet clinic. 

Tessa is used to sitting in the front passenger seat, but I thought that would be a little too distracting for me. I put her in the back with plenty of room instead. She didn’t like it. I could tell she was thinking of leaping over the seats to the front of the vehicle. Then she started barking, which always makes it seem like some next step is imminent. Looking back at Tessa, while looking forward at traffic, while watching my GPS for directions made the trip exciting. I guess I’m glad I can still do exciting. To her credit, she was much better on the way home.

What a nice, sunny day it was. In the afternoon, during Gwennie’s nap time, I decided to go outside for a walk, and maybe a drive to town. I went to the car to put my purse (with my key fob) in it while taking my walk, but remembered that shutting the door with the key inside causes the horn to alert. I didn’t want to wake the baby, so I decided to put my purse in Julie’s truck, which was parked beside my car. I opened the truck door and for some reason, which no one can figure out, the truck alarm started up. It honked for four or five minutes before I got inside, found the truck key and shut it off. Needless to say, the baby woke up.

I took my walk anyway. One change the last couple of visits is that I am no longer Gwennie’s main resource when I am here. Her regular nanny is still on the job, which leaves me free to help in other ways, or to actually rest. I still get to watch the cuteness but am not responsible for the “terrible two” times. Because I drove down this trip, I brought the small bike that I bought for her this summer when she visited me. She is very excited and possessive about her “Bluey Bike” and helmet. She hasn’t gotten the idea of how to pedal it yet, but wears the helmet and sits on the bike numerous times during the day. 

There you have it – some of the highlights of Day 1 at Riverbend Farm. 

The Joys of Hiking with Friends: A Personal Reflection

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I’m not sure why hiking with friends seems like such a novel activity for me. I’ve always liked hiking, and taking walks with people but it didn’t used to happen very often. Now that I am retired, on my own, and motivated to stay active it’s different. It’s more frequent, of course, but it’s also more vital. It serves so many purposes.

I’m reflecting on this topic as I’m wrapping up posts on the Door County hike. One night at dinner I had to tell our group that I appreciated them. I appreciated all the planning that went into making the trip a success. I didn’t have to do any of it, and that was a new vacation experience for me. I appreciated visiting a new and interesting place and not having to do it alone. I appreciated the length of time we spent, the many conversations, the shared interests in nature and hiking (and eating…). I appreciated having women friends who were willing to spend time, effort and money having fun together. I appreciated that we were all healthy enough to walk a few miles at a time without complaining. It was great. I wanted them to know it was a blessing to be with them.

Every new hike, out would come Sue’s selfie stick
I was standing nervously on the edge of a cliff
Amazing, we are all still smiling.
Brr, brr, brr…

And then I started thinking about all the other times walking filled a need. Needs for friendship, family connection, inspiration, comfort, and relaxation can all easily be met through a walk with a friend. Walking and talking go together so naturally. The pace can be adjusted for reflection. Periods of silence are comfortable (especially when climbing hills). And since I usually walk in quiet places, I’m not struggling to hear conversation. I can concentrate on my hiking partner.

I can’t ignore how wonderful hiking is for my physical health either. I would even hike alone for that reason, but it’s more certain to happen with friends. On the days when I get my 10,000 or more steps in, I sleep better, think better, and worry less. I wish everyone could walk a distance, and I feel sorry for those who can’t.

The five women who went on the Door County weekend with me are members of the Birkie Girls hiking group. The group is much larger, with a variety of ages, stages of life and physical abilities. They meet every Tuesday at 10 am for a hike somewhere chosen by the planners for the month. Two hours is allowed for hiking. By noon they are usually at a restaurant for lunch, or doing the bag lunch thing. Fellowship is a big part of the plan. The special trips farther away are open to all, but only happen a couple times a year.

Gwen
Elizabeth

I have other friends who love to get together to be active. Among them is my friend Gwen who hiked the Birkie Trail with me a couple years ago. I’ve started hiking it again with another friend, Elizabeth. Truth is, I’m always thinking of people I’d like to invite to hike with me – people I’d like to get to know better. Hiking with friends is so worthwhile. I have to say, it is one of my greatest joys.

Door County WI: Leaving Ephraim

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We had a good two night stay at Pine Grove Resort in Ephraim. After breakfast, we packed up and left for the other side of the peninsula. This morning’s hike was in Newport Bay State Park on the Lynd Point Trail. On the way there were many nice farms, orchards and vineyards. The cherry trees were in bloom, as we had hoped.

Taken out the window of a moving car. Aren’t they pretty?

Newport Bay State Park is on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula, near its tip. It is a long park stretching down the coast quite a way. The wind gets pretty fierce on this side, coming off the lake. Our hike started out on the leeward side of a point where the wind was not bad. We rounded the point and it was a different story. The rocks and beaches were magnificent. The forests are mostly cedar, hemlock, beech, and maple. The wind and waves made a lot of noise which diminished quickly when the path turned inland. The end of our path was a very long board walkway through a fern grotto, and was easy walking. The other parts of the path were rocky, lots of roots, and some fallen trees to step over. All in all, a nice adventure with a lot of variety.

We are on the way to the beach
Water, rocks and waves
The caves stretch along the shore
This poor rock may soon join the ones in the water.
Boardwalk for half a mile over a fern bog

It was too early for lunch when we finished so we went further south to Caves County Park. This park is in the middle of Whitefish Dunes State Natural Area. The lake has worn away rock outcroppings into cavelike features along the shore, which are very interesting. From what locals say, it is almost always windy on this side of the peninsula. There are always waves. We took some selfies of our group, being careful not to step too close to the edge. It was a tiny bit scary, at least for me, because I have an imagination.

We went just a little farther to Whitefish Dunes to sit and have our lunch. It was windy but there was sun and it was pleasant. The beach here is suddenly wide and sandy, a marked change from the rocky bluffs.

They were putting in a ramp down to the beach from the level where we ate our lunch.

Tonight we are in Bailey’s Harbor at the Beachfront Inn. It truly does front right on to the beach. It is a quaint, older style of motel. The doors have real keys tagged with the room number. I was parked about three steps from our door. There are so many things on the peninsula that make it look like New England. The many cottages and Victorian houses have lush green lawns and flowers. There are boats in the harbors and gulls in the sky giving a definite nautical feel. Bailey’s Harbor is a little less choppy and there is a small breakwater that shelters our waterfront. For a few feet the water is almost still, which is something I haven’t seen all day.

Nautical blues and whites, a door with a real key, and the car is literally on the other side of the door.
But we have a nice view of the fire pit and breakwater.

Our dinner destination is just across the road from our Inn. Chives, a fine dining restaurant, is said to be a “homey eatery with small, medium and large plates of upscale New American eats amid rustic-chic digs.” When did restaurants become eaterys? What is a New American eat? How do you upscale it? And what should I expect of a rustic-chic environment? I’m looking forward to learning a few things tonight. I would like to know who writes descriptions like this too.

Have you ever eaten fiddlehead ferns? Ramp? Yeah, me neither until this meal.

We are hoping to come back to our “sleepery” after dinner and sit out by the gas fire pit. I hope the wind dies down a little so it isn’t so cold. The rocking chairs out there are rocking all by themselves.

It was just too cold to stay here even though it was very picturesque.

We Saw a Wolf

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But there is no picture – don’t get excited. I wasn’t able to get the wolf’s permission. I just thought that would be a good way to get started telling about today in Door County.

More rain than we thought. Colder than we thought. We started our day with breakfast at White Gull Inn, Fish Creek. Most of us tried the Limpa toast with chopped cherry jam and it did live up to its reputation. Our plan was to visit a few stores and galleries during the rainy, windy and cold part of the day and try to hike in the afternoon. Turns out that was an excellent plan.

I got my souvenir shopping over at the first tourist store we went to. There are so many of them, and they are all attractive. They’re full of T-shirts and sweatshirts with place names, and of course, Door County is on all of them. I found my hiker medallions for Peninsula State Park, which I knew we would be hiking later in the day (and a sweatshirt, gloves and extra waterproof jacket because I was really cold).

We went to Edgewood Gallery next and spent an hour looking at all kinds of sculptures, paintings and jewelry. Many of the sculptures were large, outdoor pieces placed along landscaped paths. Pictures are better than words…

One of the many sculptures
The price tag
My favorite, the raven has a bowl full of agates!

It hadn’t rained and was starting to warm up so we had a quick lunch in one of our motel rooms. I think everyone on this trip really enjoys our camaraderie, especially the time spent talking over meal times. Last night we covered our progressive deafness and hearing aides. Today it was dementia, ALS and MRI panic attacks. You can probably guess our age range. Actually, I am the oldest and feel a little like an imposter among them, but I’m here and that’s what counts.

We all wanted to get out on a hike, so we did the Hemlock Trail at Peninsula State Park. Here is where we saw the Grey Wolf. It was fairly close and crossed the path ahead of us. It turned and looked at us long enough that we could tell it wasn’t a deer or a dog. Then it disappeared into the woods on the other side – an uncommon sighting. What a great place with excellent views of the bay, and beautiful cedar forests. The observation tower at the end was quite an impressive structure. It had a long winding ramp that climbed above the canopy and ended at the top of the tower.

Both sides of the trail are covered with Lilly of the Valley. I’ve never seen so much of it.
Eagle Observation Tower
Ramp leading from the observation tower (like a zip line for old folks)
Back at Pine Grove Resort the sun finally came out.

Every day winds down with what is called a debriefing. We were talking about why it was called that when it’s really more like a happy hour. It doesn’t matter. Today it’s going to be at the pool and hot tub.

We have dinner reservations at a very nice restaurant at 7. I don’t know if I’ll feel like writing after we get back so I’m signing off here. More tomorrow.

Door County Vacation

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Yes, I get to take a vacation. It means I get to travel someplace of my choice, for the express purpose of seeing a place I have not seen before, not staying with relatives and on a budget that is predetermined and saved for. It’s so nice.

Door County is in my home state, Wisconsin, but on the opposite side from where I live. I’m still getting the geography straight, but in general I know that it’s on a peninsula with Green Bay on one side and Lake Michigan on the other.

It took us over 6 hours to travel here from Hayward. We started at 9 and stopped for lunch at Rib Mountain State Park. The sign at Rib Mountain said it was the highest point in Wisconsin – 1940 ft. above sea level. That doesn’t seem very high, but at the top of the observation tower the view was WOW! This was in spite of the rain, and the wind gusting to 40 mph every now and then. I say lunch, but what I mean was that I ate an avocado and a yellow bell pepper, in the car in the parking lot. We did stop at Starbucks at the bottom of the mountain. We needed to warm up. It’s cold, in the 50’s, uncharacteristic of this time of year.

I am traveling with my friend Lisa, and four other hiking buddies from the Birkie Girls Hiking Group. We are in three cars, trying to keep each other in sight on the road, and not get too separated .

This dog statue was at the distillery, I don’t know why. I didn’t have permission yet to post pics of my friends, so you get the dog instead.

Further up the road we stopped in at Door County Distillery, which is famous for beverages made with cherries, or maybe just tasting like cherries. The countryside here is full of wineries and distilleries and restaurants that serve local fare. Since the big lake is here all around us there is a nautical feel about the place. Lots of fish themed places, seagulls sitting in the fields, and boat decor.

We arrived in Ephraim around 4 pm and checked into Pine Grove Resort just in time for chocolate chip cookies, cheese and crackers and wine in the front lobby. They are generous and the rooms are very nice. We have a small balcony with a view of the bay.

After a brief conclave in our leader’s room, we set out for a nearby eating place in Sister’s Bay. It was recommended by our hotel manager as being reasonably priced and well liked by locals. Sisters Bay Bowl had a small bowling alley with half a dozen lanes. No one was bowling but the restaurant was full, as was the bar.

My steak meal. The waiter was nice and I gave him a good tip.

We had a great meal, with pleasant, friendly service. I think everyone liked their food. We were hungry. Lisa and I split a piece of cherry pie with ice cream. I have made a goal of having something with cherries in it every day because this is cherry country if nothing else. The cherry trees do have blossoms on them even though it feels like winter here.

Back to our rooms for a few minutes of watching news before bed. I was hoping for a better weather report for tomorrow, but no. It will still be cold and wet, but we are here to hike – outside if possible, inside galleries and shops if not.

More tomorrow.

Things I Think About: Leather

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Yesterday I bought a used recliner. It looks like leather but I suspected it was faux leather. Sure enough, there was a label on the underside. This label left me with more questions than I had to begin with. Clearly, my knowledge base of modern materials is lacking. 

How can something be 23% leather? Can you really mix leather with other materials and have it only be a percentage of the whole? I have only known “leather” or “not leather”, and I can’t stop thinking about this complex question. 

How do you determine 23%? Is it by weight? How does this statistic help anyone? I wonder if there is a particular section that is real leather, and the rest is fake? Where is that 23%? It all looks the same to me. And why is there no mention of wood, or of metal, which is clearly most of the chair weight? Can I call it a leather chair if it’s only 23% leather? That’s not a lot.  Is leather better when it’s mixed with polyurethane, polyester and cotton? So many questions. 

I will probably think about this every time I sit in this recliner. It is comfortable. It is an upgrade from the previous recliner. And, unlike many other chairs, it is thought provoking. Definitely worth the price, just sayin’…

Covered, at Last

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It has taken a while. But it is a step taken and done (I think).  To those of you who responded to my requests, thank you so much! This one had the most votes. I think it does represent Dennis and I in partnership through this journey.

The cover was handed over to me last week for the purpose of asking for beta readers. I need three to five volunteers who will be given an advance copy of the manuscript to read. I hope to get feedback from beta readers about their experience with the book, feedback of all kinds. The goal is to make the book as good as possible, so help me make it better.  

There are still many steps to be taken before publication. I am getting help from a developmental editor now. We are working on the manuscript, but it is not in shape to give out yet. This step may go quickly, but my experience so far is that things go slower than one would expect. But it is exciting, even at its slow pace! 

So, I need readers, with opinions. If you would like to be one of my beta readers, please respond by emailing me at shirleyjdietz@gmail.com. When it is ready, the manuscript will be emailed to you to read online. I will get back to the first five. Thank you so much!

Think Twice

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Thinking twice usually means that the second thought negates the first. But not always. 

Today it was warm, for March anyway. It was fifty degrees at the height of the day. The roads are bare and dry. I got a brand new bike back in December, and it had never been out of the house. I thought to myself “you should go for a bike ride”.  My second thought was “yes, do it because you’ve been a slug all winter and need to get moving.” I had a few more cautious thoughts as well, mainly because it’s an e-bike. I’ve read the instructions several times and forgotten them several times as well. The “on”, “off” and a dozen other button pushes are a little complicated and take some getting used to. 

Danger, danger, slushy ice ahead. Yes, this bike has a display screen. Technology strikes again.

So, even though it’s supposed to start snowing tomorrow night, I decided to go around Hayward on the bike path. A few circles around the parking lot seemed to go well. The bike has several different modes but I decided the one closest to OFF would be sufficient. Every time I did a turn on the pedals, the motor kicked in. So easy, so quiet. I wondered how I was going to get any exercise. 

One shady part of the path had some slushy ice and snow which I could not avoid going over. My “old lady” caution had not kicked in yet and I did have a moment of panic. The bike slipped and I was on my way down. Thankfully, the step through frame let me get my feet on the ground and save myself from a fall. I really don’t want to wreck this bike before I’ve gotten some miles on it. And that is part of the pressure of having a nice bike. I worry that I’ll run into something and wreck it, or it will get stolen.  

The bike path is from 6 – 10 miles long, depending on whether I take the short cut through town. I had just taken the direction of the longest route, when it started to rain. I was already cold, but the thought of  being cold, and wet, was worse, so I turned back. 

Going through town is a little freaky for me because there are more cars. There are lots of intersections and lights, pot holes and other obstacles along the route. There is a lot to watch out for. One convenient feature of the bike is the throttle. It’s like a gas pedal and makes it easy to get going. When the green light goes on at an intersection, I can mount up and quickly get through . One inconvenient feature of the bike is also the throttle. It sometimes kicks in a little enthusiastically when I’m not expecting it. I know I will get used to that with experience. Hopefully I don’t wind up in front of a moving car first. 

I made it home in good shape. But I now know that 50 degrees is still a little cold to be going 15 miles an hour. I should have worn a snowsuit.  I didn’t get much exercise either. The only energy expended was the calories I burned to keep from freezing.

I know it’s going to be winter for a few more weeks yet. Today was simply a nice little window into the coming spring. Now, no matter what happens, I can say I had at least one ride on the new bike. 

I need to give the bike a cool, descriptive name. It’s brand is Aventon. Suggestions welcomed…

The Snow Can Melt Now

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The 2025 Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Race is over, so now the snow can melt. It was nearly 50 degrees today and water is dripping everywhere outside. Coming off the roof it sounds like an open faucet. I didn’t even bring my skis down from the attic (many reasons) this winter. That didn’t keep me from my own experience with the Birkie. 

Volunteers help put up this bridge over our main highway. It’s covered with snow and skiers finish the race up Hayward’s Main Street.

The last few years I have signed up to work the food tent, serving hot soup to tired, cold skiers. I also would get very chilled after hours standing on frozen ground in a breezy tent. This year I chose a volunteer opportunity inside a heated building – the Lost and Found department. 

When 11,000 skiers and all their people come into town for this weekend of skiing, lots of stuff gets lost. Zippers don’t get closed and things fall out of backpacks. People pick up something that looks just like theirs, only it isn’t. It gets hot out there skiing and off comes the jacket onto the ground. I’ve heard many variations of these stories in the last couple of days. I got a whole different view of what goes on during a major sporting event this year. It was quite interesting. 

On Friday I stopped by my station to orient to my job. I met the couple in charge, my new friends Barb and Morris. Our workplace was a large room filled with banquet tables and a few folding chairs. Nothing had arrived yet. By Saturday afternoon the tables were filled with jackets, sweaters, broken ski poles, hats, and gloves. I was shocked. Didn’t people need their coats? I was told that most of the items would not be reclaimed. Other garments that did get claimed were ones that show up year after year. That was surprising, and led to my first “behind the scenes” revelation. 

The Friday and Saturday races start early in the morning and it is normally cold. Everyone starts out quite bundled up. But, no one stays cold very long. Nordic skiing is not just slipping down some slopes and catching a ride up on a lift. It’s skiing up and down hilly terrain over long distances. It creates heat. So, off come the outer layers of clothing. They are usually discarded, picked up by crews of volunteers and transported to Lost and Found. Many skiers get a jacket at a thrift store and don’t care if they ever see it again. Others come looking for their “lucky” jacket and use it year after year. 

Only a few of the discarded/lost jackets, shirts and sweaters

The Birkie Association keeps the lost items for one month before donating them back to a thrift store. But initially they are all laid out on the tables where people can search for them. The pockets are searched to remove food or valuables. Before all this clothing is sent to storage it is catalogued. A list is attached to each bag of clothing detailing what is in it. 

Breaking a pole is a disaster. You really can’t ski the Birkie without them

Broken ski poles are another common item in Lost and Found. Volunteers at the aide stations tag the broken poles with the bib number of the skier. Believe it or not, skiers want their broken poles back for the parts that come off them. Hand straps can cost $50 to $80. The baskets on the tips can be put on new poles. Skiers usually get a loaner pole at an aide station to finish the race. They return that when they pick up their broken pole. 

So, what did I actually do while there? I folded and put items on the tables in their categories. Having done that, I knew what was there and helped people find what they were looking for. I greeted people and answered questions. I called people to let them know their item had been found. I sympathized with people who had lost their car keys, their IPhone, their new prescription glasses, their expensive gloves. I talked with Barb and Morris and found out they were retiring from that job after 13 years. Lost and Found certainly isn’t the most exciting part of the Birkie, but it is a necessary part. Working there gave me a window into volunteer roles that I hadn’t even thought of before.

At the volunteer lunch after the event finished I talked with another volunteer who had an unusual opportunity. His sole job was to take care of one of the winners of the elite group. He accompanied the third place winner through the process of signing paperwork and getting his recognition recorded. That sounded more exciting. Maybe next year?

So there is a lot to learn about this event. I learn at least one new thing every February when Birkie Fever hits our small town. It takes around 4,500 volunteers from several counties around us to put on this event. I am proud to be one of them, even if it’s just in Lost and Found. This year I didn’t get cold, just sayin’…

Neither snow, nor…

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I looked it up. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”  Add to that list cracked windshields and minus 25 degree weather.

I knew it was going to be a week of new experiences, even before my friend called. She is always apologetic when she asks for help, that’s how I know something is coming. “I know you might be really busy tomorrow, and that’s okay, could you possibly drive my mail route with me? My windshield is cracked and I’m waiting on a new one. There aren’t any mail vehicles available and I’m going to have to deliver from my SUV.”

There was a time when I thought the USPS supplied vehicles to all their carriers. You know, those white truck-like ones with the name and logo in blue. It turns out, there aren’t very many of those, not nearly enough for all the rural routes in our area. Most of our local mail carriers have bought their own vehicles, specially equipped with controls on the right. My friend has a very nice Jeep that’s not even a year old. Word has it that there is a defect in the windshields (not just hers) that causes some dangerous cracks. The warranty covers replacement, but finding a windshield is hard. She would have to wait a month or more for one on back order. 

But her immediate concern was doing the route the very next day. I decided it might be fun to see what it’s like to deliver mail. I agreed to help.

It was -25 degrees F in the morning, the day after President’s Day. Mail holidays always result in more mail to deliver than usual. As I sat in my house, considering what to wear on this adventure, a thought came. We were going to be driving a 70 mile route with a window down. It would probably take six or more hours. It might be kind of chilly.  Probably should put on everything I have. 

I arrived at the post office around 10 am. Sharron had already been at work since 7 arranging her mail trays and loading packages in her car. It was full – the kind of full that makes you shut the door quickly so nothing falls out. She had me get in the car and start getting it warmed up. She finally got in the passenger seat, with two trays of mail on her lap and packages under her feet. 

My friend Sharron

“Are you nervous?” she asked. 

“No.” I answered. 

“I am.” I could have asked her to explain, but decided not to. Best to act confident. 

Her route starts on the south edge of town so it didn’t take long for my training to begin. She kept telling me to drive slow and steady. And then I realized why she was nervous. She had put herself and all this mail in the care of a driver of unknown skill. And she was asking me to drive within inches of hundreds of mailboxes without hitting any of them. She was actually quite brave. And desperate. And nervous. 

She would take a couple trays of mail in the front with her.  Letter, magazines and packages were arranged in order of the route. She would pick letters from the tray and scan packages with her scanner, bare handed. It’s not something that can easily be done with gloves on. Next she would reach out the open window and stuff them in the mailbox.  When a tray was empty, we pulled over and she got a full one from the back. On we went. 

Tray after tray of letters and an SUV full of packages

I had heard her talking about people on her mail route. She often had to take a package to their door. Sometimes she had conversations with them, and she had come to know them.  She knew the color and size of each upcoming mailbox. She knew who had a dog, and what their dog’s name was. She knew who shopped Amazon regularly and who got lots of magazines. Once in a while she would hold her hands over the heat vent to recover from the cold. We delivered mail all day.  Often in the winter, she would be driving the route in the dark, but not today. We were done around 5 and the sun was still on the horizon. 

There were no breaks and no lunch hour.  There was an unheated bathroom stop at a park, and another at a bar where she delivered mail. They were brief. Although sheltered in the car and quite bundled up, we were somewhat cold all day. The window was open nearly all the time while we drove. It did get up to 7 degrees, which was the high temp for the day. 

I have new appreciation for my friend and the way she does her work. I am thankful there are people who love that job enough to do it, day after day.  I used to wonder if I would like working for the postal service. But my idea of the job was walking through residential neighborhoods, with a cool uniform, and a backpack of letters. Not this. You could not pay me to do this for a living. Nope. 

But I enjoyed helping for a day. It was a very cool (literally) adventure. And I only hit one mailbox, or bumped it, maybe. It didn’t fall over, just sayin’…