Box of Rain

The above is our mailbox. It looks like a little green house. It has been planted on this rail for a very long time. But it also sticks out a bit into the driveway. Every time we back out, which we must, there is a fear of hitting it. I can't believe it's still there.

So the other night I'm sitting home while Kimberly was working an evening shift with the babies. TV on, me on the couch, somewhere nearby is a bowl of ice cream and other treats. I am wearing what we call "3rd ways", comfy sweats, old sweater...

The phone rings and it is a message for Kimberly concerning a lot of addresses and phones numbers, which I scrawl on a nearby scrap of paper.

About an hour later, I get to thinking that I may go sleepy-bye before she comes home and I want to be sure she sees her message. So I go for a bigger piece of paper and a neater note. When I return, I cannot find the original scrap...anywhere.

I searched for 45 minutes, going into rooms I haven't been in for days. I dig into trash cans, even the one outside in the garage. I check my pockets 5 separate times.

No note.

I try to reconstruct the message, but the phone numbers...the phone numbers..the addresses. So I go on another scrap hunt. Finally, I get the brilliant idea to jump in the car and drive to what I think is the address and see it that is the shop in question.

I know I could have used the phone book but that would have been too easy.

I ease into the car still wearing my slippers and slowly back out until I hear the bump.

Long story short....I hit the mailbox. It collapsed like the Thai Government.

I hopped out and examined the damage. The car was fine, but the little house was in many pieces in the garden. It looked like it had a recent visit from the big bad wolf. But New Zealand has no wolves, only dumb drivers.

I picked up the pieces and brought them in so I could put it all back together a la Humpty Dumpty.

I have only a hammer and not a lot of nails. There are a jigsaw puzzle's worth of pieces. After 15 minutes of fumbling around, Humpty went into the Dumpty.

I decide it is time to just buy a new mailbox. I needed to get it the following day so the postie would have a place to put our mail. They don't have those little trucks here, but ride on bicycles with saddlebags.

At the hardware store were about 15 kinds of boxes, most looked like little houses, some like big houses. I bought a moderate, track home, probably a 2-bedroom.

Having very few tools, including no drill, I thought about attaching it with liquid nails and finally settled in on 4 brackets. But the screws were too long and ended up sticking through the inside of the box. This could cause a nasty cut when retrieving mail. So I installed wall to wall carpet in the little mail house.

The way the whole job finished up, If I bought the biggest box, Josh could live in it.