Letters from the North Pole

Something came in the mail yesterday that made me laugh out loud, even before I opened it. It was a letter from Santa! I didn't recognize the handwriting, but it was addressed to Edie with a return address of 'Santa, North Pole'. And there was a stamped postmark but no location.

Mysteriously missing postmark

Simply stated return address

The letter had some pointed responses to drawings that Edie made recently - one to Santa and another to Santa's Littlest Elf, who we read about. I vaguely remember Dave bringing Edie to the mailbox to send these notes to Santa after Christmas - thank you notes rather than a wish list. Then I wondered if she wrote them while Grammy, Papa and Becky were here, and maybe they responded on Santa's behalf? But I confirmed they didn't have anything to do with it.

Dear Edie....

Anyway, when Dave came home I was like, "So Edie got a special letter from Santa today....", while kicking him under the table and opening my eyes wide to subliminally ask, Did you have a student write this?? He swears he had nothing to do with it, and when I considered how intense his workdays are and how much organizing he would've had to do to make it happen, I knew it wasn't him either. The truth is, we straight up got a letter from Santa and it made my day, maybe even more than it made Edie's. I think the letter might be associated with this USPS program, although I'd think they have a North Pole return stamp. Regardless, these unexpected things remind me that life can be wonderful and surprising. If some generous citizen takes it upon themselves to respond to kids' letters to Santa, I hope that brings them as much joy as it brought us.

Snugglebunnies!



In other news, it's been insanely cold here lately. Polar vortex, I suppose. I wear a down vest in my house, drink tea all day, and hustle while outside, if I absolutely HAVE to go outside. I've also been running on the treadmill that Dave bought me for Christmas, which is on our back "three season" (i.e. one season - Spring) porch. I get bundled up in running gear, strap on my iPhone-holding fanny pack, and head on out. I warm up pretty quickly once I get a good pace going, and it's awesome to have an option to run at night without risk of slipping on ice, negotiating with commuters, and dealing with dark, cold ridiculousness. This is good, because I have about three more weeks of training before Austin, and this week, Dave and I signed up for another half-marathon. Ashley presented the idea of the Brooklyn Half, and at first I scoffed. Is it really necessary to train for a race on the heels of this one? She warned that, true to New York City fashion, entry spots would sell out in one day (and they did). Dave, Ashley, Jeff, and my mom were in. I pressed the 'register' button before reason set in. I can't seem to say no to a potential running adventure. 'Til next time!

You can never have enough purple