Day 66 #100DaysOfOldDays

Do you feel a burst of excitement when the Fastway courier pulls up at your door? He carries the package to your beaming face and you thank him…like he just gave you a birthday present. You know what’s in the box because you ordered it off the internet and you paid for it! It’s still exciting.

Back before we had the internet and we had to do all our shopping in physical shops, we didn’t experience that sense of joy that the Fastway man gives us. But we did experience a different kind of joy when the postman delivered a parcel.

I’m talking about the unexpected brown paper parcels that came from our cousins in England and Dublin. They were big, and in our young dewy eyes they were mahoosive! We’d gather round as Mam would cut the string open with the Wellman scissors. Ten little hands would rip open the paper and a pile of clothes would tumble out onto the table; all second-hand clothes but as good as new. We were so excited. The best thing for me was being the only girl in the family so I didn’t have to negotiate with three others over the outfits.

When I was about eight, Auntie Bridie sent me a beautiful fur-lined red suede coat. It had grey fur around the cuffs and collar, and a thick red suede belt. It was a new coat that she bought me as a Christmas present. Auntie Bridie didn’t have a family and everything she sent us was brand new. My memories of wearing the coat are of Mam and me going for night-time walks on moonlit frosty nights. I was so warm and cosy. I looked like a miniature Santa Claus but I was the bee’s knees. I’ll never forget that coat. I wish I still had it. Lucy drew the perfect image of it when I explained to her what it looked like!

Does anybody receive parcels like this anymore?