Across the miles.

Two or three weeks ago, I mentioned that I was making Christmas cards and had added embellishments to some. Specifically, buttons. This sparked quite a few comments to remind me about the cost of postage and worse, the cost of postage for items thicker than 5mm. I know, it's not cheap and because we are all over 21, so we are all old enough to have had to absorb quite a few rises to the cost of posting anything. Everything. 

Here's the thing though. Paper crafting is my game, and more specifically, I make cards. I really like to make cards and I really, really like to make cards to send to people. I know the postage costs are dramatic, and when there are a lot of cards to post, at Christmas say, it can be prohibitive. This is how I look at it; a second class stamp is now a pound, I think. I cannot, under any circumstance, deliver a card to anywhere outside about a 20 mile radius for a pound. I hand deliver a lot. I post worldwide and nationally, with a blink or two to be sure, but I do constantly remind myself that a card posted to the USA for 3 quid is about 696 pounds and a lot of effort less than I can deliver it for. For me, this cost becomes a part of the gift of the greeting that I've made.

Now I'm not telling you this to cause controversy. Cost is a consideration for all of us, and I know that there are plenty of people who choose to make a charitable donation rather than send cards. I've never thought of this as a method to avoid postal costs, rather a generous gesture at a busy time. Giving to a charity is connecting, just as sending a card is connecting. And my word, despite differences of opinion, we need to stay connected, don't we.