Well Worth the Trouble

On Friday, I received a notice in my mailbox to pick up a package at the post office. The notice said that the package would be there on 4/24 (Friday) after 5:00pm. This was some sort of trick because the package pick-up door closes at 5:00pm. Anyway, I went to the post office on Saturday morning a little after 11:00am (the package pick-up door closes at noon on Saturdays), and it was even crazier than usual. Both the line to the counter and the line for package pick-up were almost out the door, and I would estimate that there were about 30 people total. I wish I would've actually counted them. I definitely had time to do so.

After waiting about ten minutes, a postal worker came to the door to take our pick-up notices and then disappeared back behind the door for about ten more minutes. During this time more people came in and kept asking if we'd been helped yet. As someone who frequently picks up packages here (about once a month), I laughed inside at their impatience. Didn't they know you couldn't walk into this post office without spending at least thirty minutes?

Finally, the postal worker came back and called my name. He asked for my ID and then asked me to sign my notice, but as I looked over at the package he was about to give to me and glanced at the name on it because the package is much smaller than I expected, I read "Richard ..." Richard! I'm not Richard, so I pointed this out to the gentleman before I signed anything. "Oh," he tells me, "I couldn't find your package...they are still looking for it." I wasn't surprised, but I was a little disappointed.

After the postal worker gave Richard his package and some other people their certified letters, he once again collected notices and disappeared for about ten minutes. Upon his return, I looked at him questioningly, and he told me that they were still looking. I watched everyone get their packages and leave, and I watched the new batch hand over their notices. Finally, a lady at the counter called out my last name, and I knew it was bad news. (If they had my package, they would hand it out the door to me as usual.) She tells me that they cannot locate the package and that I should call on Monday after 9:00am when my carrier will be in. I see her write a note (presumably to my carrier) and I leave.

I called the post office yesterday morning at 9:30am, and I informed the person who answered of my situation. He put me on hold for a long time, and then a lady picked up. I again related the situation to her, and she informed me that I should have called between 7:00am and 9:00am and that I was too late. She advised me to call the next morning. I was frustrated, and after thinking on it, I thought it was possible (likely, even) that my carrier had received the note left for him, located my package, and put it in the correct location. Neither person I had spoken to in the morning had even checked for it, so I decided that I would call again after work.

This time when I relayed the information, the lady put me on hold to go look for the package. When she got back on the phone, she told me that yes, my package was there, so I immediately went back to the post office to pick it up. I again handed my notice to the postal worker and waited. When he returned, he had no package for me, and told me that he couldn't find it. I informed him that I had just called right before driving there, and the lady on the phone said my package was there. He nodded and handed the notice to another employee who I heard say that I had been there on Saturday and that my package was missing. At that, I peeped around the corner and told her that I had just called and that my package was apparently there. She looked surprised and disappeared.

About ten minutes later, my name was called at the counter, and I tried to swallow my disappointment as I walked over to where she was standing. Lo and behold! There was a packaged wrapped in pink plastic sitting in front of her with my name on it! She explained that my carrier misidentified this "parcel" as a "large envelope" and that's why they couldn't find it. Whatever. I was just glad to finally have it in my hands.

The package arrived for me all the way from the U.K. from my Lego Swap partner. Inside was this cute crocheted bag that looks like it could be made from Lego bricks.

See the cute button and stitch markers?

Inside of the bag were even more goodies: dried fruit (black cherries and strawberries), goat's milk soap shaped like Legos (great minds think alike--I got some Lego-shaped soap for my partner, too), a knitted washcloth and a crochet scrubbie (to use with the soap!), and a skein of Araucania sock yarn in the same color green as green Legos. Araucania is usually my go-to yarn for sending in swaps but I have actually never used any myself. Now I can!