Valerie's Voice in the north

Valerie G. Barnes Connell Jordan

Northern Advocate

It seems that services are not for the people anymore. I’m not sure what they are for and, I think, it’s best to avoid them. Services, such as Canada Post.

It’s sad when something arrives for you at the post office and it doesn’t have your post office box number. But, it does have your name, your physical address, the community name and the Postal Code.

I guess gone are the days when you just needed a postal code. I can see that, because, for the most part, I’ve lived in communities where we just had box numbers.

I’ve liked that in the past because the post office was always a place to visit with your neighbours, while you get your mail.

When I worked in the church, it was often a place to meet the people and have a chat about whatever was happening in their lives and often an opportunity to do some pastoral care with folks in an informal setting.

As many people will know I have a full bag of stories. I have many post office stories.

While I worked in the church in small communities, I often rode my bike to the post office. Well, I would stop at the post office when I was doing other things around town.

One time, I stopped and the Post Mistress asked if I was on my bike? I said I was. She said I had better go home and get the car as I had two heavier boxes to pick up. I did that and found a lovely surprise from a friend.

It’s a story more because of the friendliness of the woman working in the post office.

When I was growing up we had postal delivery and I remember we had the same postman for several years. We got to know him, and he was an important part of our community.

I’m surprised sometimes to think back and realize how much extra time it must have taken him to be kind and friendly to children on his route. He always was. Now, I can’t really remember his name, but I remember his friendliness.

The post office became a difficult place during the COVID days. It is a difficult place to go in and keep your distance from other people and, I’m sure, took a lot of extra work for the people working there.

Although, I was very angry that someone in the post office couldn’t see my name, physical address and town were on a parcel and pause… and know it belonged in the community, before just sending a parcel, I had been waiting for urgently, back to its sender.

But, that was not the case.

I don’t know when I will see my parcel, if ever.

I suspect, following COVID, many more people are ordering online and more parcels are making their way into our post offices, making more work for the people working there to deal with.

It’s given me pause to reflect on the wonderful people I’ve known over the years, who’ve worked in the post offices in the many places I have lived.

I just feel sad to leave a post office, where I have lived for very close to 20 years, and feel exhausted, frustrated, and like I’ve disappeared in some way.

I guess it’s time to say thank you to all those folks who’ve worked in the post offices of the past and realize, things have changed. It is so terribly sad when your local post office is so tied into its bureaucracy.

But, we need to try to support the people working in the post office now as they also grapple with the changes. Maybe, then, the friendliness can return, including mine.

And be thankful Canada Post still exists. Even if a parcel misses you at your local post office and is returned to sender, you know the parcel did arrive at your local post office, even if only for a few minutes, before being returned to sender. And I, with no help from anyone at the post office, spend more than four (4) hours emailing, phoning and waiting to try and track the parcel down and to no avail!

On another note:

Wishing everyone a very Happy Holiday Season!!!