When I was ten years old I used to watch a t.v. show called Big Blue Marble. The premise of the show was to feature kids from different parts of the world, so that collectively, we could become less ethnocentric and more culturally aware children. The show further sought to bridge cultural gaps by encouraging kids to send in their names and addresses to be matched with another kid from a different part of the world and become pen pals.
For those of you that came of age after the advent of the Internet, we used to have to send all written communications via snail mail. It’s true! We waited weeks for our mail to come, too. Weeks! Up hill, both ways, and in the snow!
I diligently sent in every bit of my personal information to Goodness-Knows-Who did the pen pal matching. I may have even told them my zodiac signs–one can’t be too careful when it comes to international pen pal matching. I wanted them to have all my relevant information. Pen pals are important stuff in the mind of a 10 year old.
So I waited…
and waited…
and waited…
More than 6 months later, I had my international pen pal match! Her name was Shelley. She was also a softball-playing-4th grade-tomboy-who-loved-Laura-Ingalls-Wilder. We were exactly alike, except for the fact that she lived in a very remote and exotic land called…Texas.
TEXAS!! I mean, I know things are a little different in Texas than they are in Michigan, but I had no idea it was considered a global cultural difference? Shelley and I wrote back and forth for a couple of years…until we didn’t anymore. I was sure that my pen pal days were over.
Now in the age of the Internet, I am fortunate enough to have many pals that I keep in touch with almost daily. (Hey, y’all–that’s you!)
A few of us have even thrown privacy concerns aside and shared our home addresses in order to send each other little somethings whenever the whim struck. Suffice it to say that copious amounts of jam have been exchanged. Kind of weird for ladies that have never met face-to-face, but whatever. Being that most of us are Planners, we decided to schedule the gift giving in a Round Robin format for the next few months.
~Welcome to One Kitchen, Many Hearts!~
Top L to R: Mads , Me, Megan. Bottom L to R: Jeanne, Allison, Kat.
In which we send fun and/or local goodies across the country.
We may not be international, but we do span the continental US. I apologize if y’all are sick of hearing about the six of us, but when you are More the Merrier Folk and find friends that willingly engage is silly reindeer games, you really have no choice but to embrace it. I highly encourage you to do the same.
Besides…who doesn’t love getting presents in the mail? Think of it like Birch Box, but with less stuff that your Grandma would send you if she cleaned out her linen closet. Except for the part where we agree that the occasional Ugly Craft or Gag Gift had to happen.
This month, the lovely Megan sent me this cool stuff all the way from Seattle. She’s awesome–the girl knows me. She sent Red Velvet chocolate because chocolate rules my world; a cute little bottle of champagne because you just never know when the urge to celebrate will strike; COCONUT CHAI tea because chai rules my world even more than chocolate does; and hello! Biscoff spread! Holy spreadable cookies, Batman!
I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I threatened my boys with cleaning their own toilet for the rest of their lives if they so much as looked at my chocolate and Biscoff spread. I even gave them a good, hard stare for good measure.
I think I need to come up with better threats. It may interest you to know that I’ve since hidden this jar in my bed side stand with a spoon. You know–in case of emergencies.
Just wait until you see what I sent to Mads in southern California–the card alone is priceless!
If you are really curious, you can also click around to see what Jeanne sent to Kat, Kat gifted Megan, Mads bequeathed Allison, and Allison bestowed upon Jeanne.
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