We look forward to Mail Days. Our Battalion runs mail call on Mondays. Wednesdays, and Fridays. I don’t know if that is their choice, something that came down from higher, or if it is the way the post office here is running things. But three days a week we get our little displays of love and support from home.

Now this year, we’re away from our loved ones and while we do have our Army Family™ here with us, it is not entirely the same. I work with great people and I enjoy their company but we’ve just had two big holidays in a row (Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hannukah, which both came on the 25th of December in 2024) and now New Year’s. We have good camaraderie but it is not the same. Maybe that’s good; it means we’ll celebrate next years’ holidays with a fresh perspective.

Normally one of the joys of Thanksgiving in the USA is “Thanksgiving leftovers” afterwards. I don’t know why, perhaps because it means not having to cook or at least not having to cook very much. It is as much a part of the ritual as Thanksgiving itself, for many people. And it is also true that about this time of year, starting after Thanksgiving, the mail system slows down considerably because of all the Christmas packages getting shipped.

No matter how tempting it may be to try to send some of that leftover Thanksgiving holiday cheer, don’t do it! Just hang on to that feeling and wait ’till November swings around again. We’ll all thank you for it.