the mail.

One of the greatest joys of my life is receiving mail. No, not bills or bank statements. But mail. Real mail complete with smudged pen, loose leaf paper, and scribbled handwriting.. addressed right to Janeen Dittmann. Since how I didn't have a car of my own through high school, the deal with my parents was simple: if I picked up the mail regularly, I had access to the car. If I forgot to get the mail, I didn't get to drive the car. Sure, there were other rules, but this is the one I am focusing on right now. I would like to say it became habit, but it didn't. I always forgot. Randomly, a few days ago, I was about to head out of town with a friend for the evening and I asked if we could stop and get the mail first.. odd. We stopped at the post office. There were five items in our box, and much to my surprise, three of them were addressed directly to moi! Not only was I just crazy excited to actually get mail, but each of the letters seemed to almost.. represent something in my life.

Exhibit A. TD Canada Trust. So this wasn't my regular monthly bank statement, or even a new bank card. This was a letter that told me that my very first Visa was ready to be picked up at the bank. What the heck! When did I turn the age where I needed to establish my credit rating? I believe it was just a week or two ago that I was in Mr. Wolsey's CALM class filling out hundreds of worksheets on banking and credit and all of that stuff. I guess by now its almost been three years.. It seemed so far off, but here I am, with a credit card in my wallet. When did I get here? Thanks TD Canada Trust, for freaking me right out!

Exhibit B. Westwind School Division. Well. This summer has just been full of surprises. Not only was I notified that my picture will in fact be appearing on the wall of my English classroom for the rest of its existence.. which has been my goal from the first day of class... and not only was I told that one of my essays was going to be published in an anthology of youth writers.. but to top it off, Westwind School Division invited me to a luncheon.... because I received the highest mark on the English diploma in the whole division! Yeah, I will admit I'm a competitive person. But honestly.. this has nothing to do with anyone else. I am just so completely happy with the small successes I've had lately. :) Thank you Westwind School Division for boosting my confidence even MORE! Just kidding.