mail | Thinking Through My Lens

Do you ever put anything in the actual snail mail? (You know the place: the USPS, the Post Office, that place where you go when someone sends you a package and you get that little sticky paper on your door that you need to go and pick it up. And the hours are very limited and the lines are very long–is it really worth going?)

I do.

Mostly I mail postcards. Mostly when I travel somewhere. Mostly to my grandsons. And to my classroom so my students can see what a postcard is and how fun it is to get one in the mail.

I like to search out postcards when I get someplace. Find a postcard that is interesting in some way. (Or sometimes it is the only one available.). Some places have free postcards. Some places have cool postcards. Palm Springs has these cool mid-century modern-styled postcards. They’re a little more expensive, but fun to send to another adult.

I discovered that I need to write my postcards within about 24 hours of buying them…and then get them in the mail right away. I’ve learned where there are post offices in some pretty out of the way places–and the smaller the town, the more likely the post office is to be on the main road–highly visible. And I actually carry postcard stamps in my backpack so there is no barrier to mailing them.

Whenever my students go somewhere or we have a break from school, I remind them to find a postcard and mail it to the class. I’ve learned that there are parents who are not familiar with postcards and how they work. And that they are parents who are quite creative and help their child create their own postcard rather than purchasing one.

It’s such fun to have a postcard arrive in the mail. In the classroom, the student who wrote the postcard reads it to the class. They we hang it up on the whiteboard. By this point in the year, we have quite a collection growing! We even have some grandparents who have sent postcards to their grandchild and our class. We have them from as close as Encinitas (our own town) and as far away as Thailand, Australia, and England.

My son sends me postcards. He doesn’t live all that far away, but he is an artist and either makes his own postcards with original art or transforms something existing. It’s such fun to get a postcard in the mail.

What’s your relationship with postcards? With snail mail?

I love a great postcard. Anywhere and anytime I travel, I make an effort to find postcards, write them, and mail them (preferably from the place where I got them). I like the scarcity of space, the need to be succinct…maybe even pithy in my composition. I mostly send postcards to my grandsons. I want them to feel the pleasure of getting mail, of knowing that I am thinking of them, and sharing a tiny glimpse of my travel experience with them.

I encourage my students to write and send postcards to our class anytime they travel. I want them to feel the pleasures of snail mail, understand the connections their words can help forge, and to delight our class as we get to study the postcard, notice the stamp and postmark, and read the message written especially for us. We have quite a collection growing! When school ended last year, I sent each of my students a postcard (Target had National Parks postcards in their dollar bins) with a “would you rather” type of question on it. As school began this year, many of those students were eager to tell me how much they loved their postcard!

My youngest son is an artist. Over the years postcards have been a part of his art process. In the past there were times when he bought a postcard and used it as his canvas for creating art. The fun part of this medium is that the artwork then shows up in your mailbox. Here’s a couple of examples.

Nick’s most recent art has been the creation of blob sculptures. He posts a daily reel of his creation on Instagram @nickdouillard to the delight of nearly a million followers who sometimes watch his reels millions of times. Just last week he offered a sale at his site, which included a variety of one-of-a-kind handmade blobs as well as packs of blob postcards drawn by him. His sculptures sold out in no time–he has quite a fan base for these quirky, adorable pieces. I knew I would be ordering some of his postcards–and they come with sticker hats (another feature of his blob sculptures) to mix and match the blobs’ looks. My order came in the mail today!

Now the big decision…who do I sent my brand new postcards to? My grandsons are definitely on my list of sendees… I’m thinking I’ll also write an unexpected postcard to a friend or two I haven’t seen in a while and maybe a colleague who won’t be expecting it. I have ten…it will be fun to pick out people to send them off to!

Who would you send a postcard to?

(Shameless plug: cute blob postcards are still available, just visit Nick’s Instagram site. He’ll even send a postcard for you to the addressee of your choice!)