It’s the holiday season and everyone is thinking about their families — spending precious time together, eating delicious food, and, of course, buying presents. This Hanukkah, though, I’m mostly thinking about my mom and all she does to make everyone else’s holiday special.
My mom is a letter carrier, and between the middle of November and the new year, she works six days a week to make sure that holiday packages get to where they’re going. She likes what she does and she’s happy to play a big role in people’s holiday cheer, but that role is mostly invisible. People check tracking numbers for gifts they’ve ordered, or they say hello to their postal clerk when dropping off a package, but I don’t think many realize how difficult postal workers’ jobs are, and how much worse they’ve become over the years — thanks, in large part, to Louis DeJoy at the helm as postmaster general.
Many people encourage consumers to “shop local” during the holiday season, in an effort to keep money in their local economy — but another reason is to lighten the load for postal workers and other delivery workers. It would certainly be better if people went out and bought gifts at nearby stores, instead of relying on the quick click of a button to have all of their purchases shipped directly to them.
Don’t worry, DeJoy won’t make your Mom work more than 12 hrs. a day, 7 days a week.