Hey, Mr.Postman

My mom and John arrived Sunday night. We have been having a great time. Pete always says that when he married me, he married his mother. I feel the same way, Pete and my mother are very much alike. They are in charge, organizers. It's great for me, this house has never looked better. I've always felt I'm more like my dad. I'd rather carry out the orders than give them. I am happy that my mom is here. I have missed her. I'm sure I will have lots to post about her in the next couple of days, but for today, I've had something else on my mind.
I remember specifically, my mom driving my dad to work one morning with us. It was really early and not yet light out and we were still mostly asleep. My dad works in Pebble Beach which is gated. You actually have to pay if you just want to take a ride through. I think it may have been the guard shack lit up or maybe one of the lights from the multi million dollar homes, but in my half awake mind it looked like the emerald city of oz and I wanted to work there like my dad. I first expressed this desire when we dropped a friend home in Pebble Beach after a birthday party. My dad was not as receptive as I had imagined. My dad had started at the post office when I was born, my grandfather was also a postman. I believed it was my destiny. Also, I liked the fact he got to eat lunch out in the forest, or by the ocean, I knew because sometimes my mom would take his lunch out to him and we would all eat together. He had a lot of friends at work and they joked and played pranks on each other. They had lockers and got to wear headphones and listen to their music while they sorted. How does that not sound fun?
Now, in addition to the post office and the newspaper delivery, my dad also had a third job. He had Atlas Building Maintenance. After work he would pick up my sisters and I (usually me and Alex) and we cleaned several doctors offices. This was in High school. It wasn't super fun work, but I would not have missed it for the world. We had all that time hanging out and we ate out every night ( hello chubette!) He did pay us, although I never saw any money due to my hundred dollar plus phone bills with Pat who lived the next town over. Alex spent hers on New Kids on the Block. It didn't matter what, if it was NKOTB, it was hers. We had a lot of fun though. Thanks to this experience cleaning, years later I landed a janitorial position at my dads post office. I'd head over after newspapers and clean the office. It was nice because I took Siobhan along in the backpack. I was terrible at the job, but I was there to get a taste of what it was like to be in my dads work environment. It was fun. For the most part, the people he worked with had been around since I was born and I knew them all. It was fun to witness that part of my dads life firsthand. I enjoyed that experience.
The other Pat, the one I was married to, took a temporary route in Carmel once, but didn't have too much success. I have taken the postal exam, in Salt Lake City, for the encoding center but had decided to stay at home with the kids. I find it amusing that they forward me the flyer's that they need people in Utah, from SLC to here. I've always found it interesting that working at the post office, my dad always mails things a week or so or never after they were meant to be mailed. I wonder when he retires next year if he will start mailing things on time?
So, before I start my Christmas/ mom posts this week, I just wanted to tell my dad how proud of him I am and how much I miss him. His BFF at the office just retired and I imagine that it's hard to be the last of the few remaining old timers. Pete has saved a week of vacation specifically for my dads retirement. I will not miss that. My dad has taken all the requirements to be a postmaster and was in fact the acting postmaster, for a time, in his office. He was the shop steward I believe, for his Postal Union. But best of all is that he is a Million Mile Club member.
So, congratulations dad, I am little bitter however. If I had followed my dream, we could have matching Million Mile Club leather jackets.