Stamps for Pen Pals

When I was a kid, the only thing better than a chocolate ice cream cone was finding a letter addressed to me in our mailbox. The problem was, I didn’t know many people who would send me a letter. All my friends lived just down the street.

Oh, there were the occasional postcards from my friends postmarked Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where many West Virginians vacationed. But other than that, mail with my name on it was few and far between. Until one summer when my family took a vacation that wasn’t to Myrtle Beach.

At first when my dad told us where we were going, my brother Rick and I both let out a huge groan, “But, Dad, all of our friends are going to the beach.” He and mom told us that staying in a quaint, little two bedroom log cabin in Watoga State Park would be more fun.

The first day I rode my bike to the lodge to buy souvenirs. Dad and Rick went fishing on the lake. Then the monsoon rains set in reason– which is the reason that the West Virginia landscape is so lush and green. As our family of four was cooped up in the cabin, that seemed to get smaller by the day, my brother and I fought over everything from whose turn it was in Parchesi to me saying he cheated in Gin Rummy. Mom and Dad were regretting their decision to take this unusual vacation. At least when it rained at the beach there were other activities for us like the pavilion, shopping for toys and buying comic books.

Enough was enough for me being holed up in the cabin, so I ventured out in my red and white polka dot raincoat, clear plastic rain hat tied under my chin and red galoshes on my feet. I built dams in the ditch to trap the torrents of water pouring off of the hill. Through the rain dripping off of my hat into my eyes, I saw a girl about my age sloshing through the mud puddles.

Janet was from New Jersey and asked what I was doing. I said there was a lot of work to do to dam up the water and that I could use her help. We were inseparable for the remainder of our vacation and both of us cried when we packed up our cars to return home. We vowed to write every week and became pen pals. My friends back home were intrigued with our relationship and wanted to see her photos and know everything about her. I ran to the mailbox everyday hoping for a letter from Janet.

Today’s gift was to help someone start a new relationship or rekindle an old one. I bought extra stamps in the post office and left them on the postage machine with a note that said, “Take what you need and leave the rest for someone else who needs a stamp.” I can only imagine the joy that someone will get out of finding a stamp to put on a letter to their pen pal.

In Giving,

Robin