Our Beloved Mailman

I've always felt a unique bond with our mailman who also just happened to serve as our back-up mailman when we lived in a different county over 6 years ago. He loves to leave surprise gifts in the mailbox for our kids on most holidays and wears a fun Santa cap during the Christmas season. This year he has a brand new Santa suit and has been hoping to surprise our kids while wearing it on Christmas Eve.  Once when my children were younger, they saw him in his Santa cap leaving packages on the front porch and ran upstairs shouting "Santa came early, and since we don't have a chimney, he left the gifts on the porch!"  I think they were joking, but I'm not sure how clear their understanding of Santa Claus was at that time. 

Aside
We don't make much mention of Santa Claus at our house because we want Christ to be the focus (The joy He brings trumps any excitement Santa can bring, amen?) and because we want our kids to always trust us to tell them the truth.  I remember feeling hurt and ashamed when I learned the truth about Santa Claus.  I loved the gifts but did not like feeling like my parents and my prankster brother had pulled a fast one on me.  I also want to avoid any confusion over fantasy vs. reality, especially with regard to teaching them that the stories in the Bible are absolutely true, historical fact, not fiction.  So, we leave the children gifts on Christmas morning and fill their stockings, but we worship Christ, the greatest gift, instead of thanking Santa Claus.  We have told them the true story of St. Nicholas and explain that Santa is a personification of that Christmas spirit and a fun game to play at Christmastime.  We never made it out to be a secret that they would be itching to tell, and as far as we know, they have not spoiled the Santa game for any other families.  We have, however, missed out on getting to eat cookies and milk on Christmas Eve while reading some sweet note the kids might have left for Santa.

Like my husband, our postman is a navy veteran, but unlike my husband, he walks with a limp due to permanent disability gained during his years of service. I sensed, however, that we had another connection with our mailman.

He came to our door on the day before Thanksgiving hoping to show off his musical dancing turkey hat to the kids.

 

While I could order stamps on-line for an extra shipping and handling fee, he sells me stamps without any additional fees.  While showing me all the new Christmas stamps this year (while donning the turkey hat), he asked me if I had been to B-Town (my hometown) lately. Postal workers know as much about us as our hairdressers!  Then I learned that he had grown up in the same town, and we both had occasional cravings for the same hometown restaurants.  His craving grew so strong that past week that he had made a special trip to our hometown to patronize those establishments.  So that connection I felt with our mailman all these years was a hometown connection and I made sure to bring him back a souvenir from his favorite greasy spoon while home for Thanksgiving.

When he suggested that my kids might like the Santa & reindeer stamps best, I said, "No, not my kids. They'll prefer the ones of Mary & Joseph with the sunset in the background." Then my eavesdropping 6-year-old replied, "Swing set? Oh yes, we want the one with Mary, Joseph, and the swing set."

Our mailman returned the day after Thanksgiving wearing two different turkey hats.  He came early and had a super busy day before him that would likely not conclude until well after dark.  Yet, he paused long enough to take photos with my children and to show off his newest turkey hat.  John Marcus, you are such a blessing to us! 

Mailman Marcus, 2 kids, and 2 turkey hats

Kids laughing at his dancing turkey hat