Holiday Snail Mail

I still write real letters - albeit fewer these days - and I love receiving "snail mail." Even before e-mail came about, my family members always mailed birthday cards to each other, even when living in the same house. It never struck me as odd, just how a birthday card should properly be delivered. I guess it was recognized even then that receiving a piece of mail was special, and in the Internet age, it's more so. My grandmother still sends me a card for every holiday. And I mean every holiday - Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day...if Hallmark makes a card for the occasion, I'll receive one.

Grandmother always encloses cash with her cards, even for non gift-giving occasions. For years it was usually $2. She finally started to factor in inflation and now I get $10. I thought as I got older (I turned 30 in January) I'd stop getting cards, but without fail, I still get them.

When I lived in Berlin, I discovered that my roommate Jens also received holiday cards from his grandmother. And just like mine, she had enclosed a bit of cash, usually 5 Deutschmarks, which was a little over $2. Germany switched to Euro in the middle of my year there, so she exchanged the 5 Deutschmarks for 5 Euros, which was equal to about $5. His profit instantly doubled. I was surprised, but delighted, that this card-sending (and money enclosing) practice was a universal grandmother trait. The difference is just what the recipient did with the cash. My grandmother often suggested I go to a movie (which she loves doing herself). Jens bought cigarettes - with his grandmother's blessing.

I still received a $10 bill with my St. Patrick's Day card this year, but with a different note:

"I don't know what you can do with this paltry bill, but instead of suggesting a movie rental, how about a 'piggy bank' for the baby. After reading your blog and all the costs for raising a child today, maybe you can put away change and start in saving for the coming arrival. You could open a little bank account for him/her upon arrival."

My grandmother has read my mind. High on my preparation-for-baby-to-do list is to open a 529 and/or Coverdell Education Savings Account(ESA). (http://www.mnsaves.org/faq/about.html) She may not think $10 is very much, but despite how well investments are faring in today's market, I'm still trying to have faith in the concept of compounding interest. And because my child's college education is at least 19 years away, I can still have hope that our country will somehow be able to bring the spiraling cost of higher education into check. But just in case, Chris and I will start saving. We haven't yet even talked about how much we want to (or can) save or researched any of the options, but we've got $10 to start.