December 2025
I’ve been told our neighborhood is one of the hardest mail routes in the city.
Here, the mail carriers deliver mail on foot, climbing up the hill to each house to leave bundles of letters folded in a metal box attached to the house, slipped in a mail slot, or—my favorite—tucked inside the old wooden milk door.
This is how we met, Marissa, our mail carrier.
A few months back, we were out on a walk, as we do every day after lunch. We saw Marissa on her route, a loop of even footsteps like stitches in a quilt as she visited house by house along our street. Rory, our 10-year-old lab-greyhound, ran up to greet her, and to her delight, Marissa pulled out a full-size Milk Bone from her navy mailbag. And then another as we stood and chatted about the blue sky, the extra packages that day, her own dog (a Yorkie) back home.
From then on, Rory began looking for Marissa on walks. She’d catch a glimpse of her Postal Blue sleeve and run down the sidewalk or across the street. “Hi, Rory!” Marissa says when she sees her coming. In return, we wrapped up an apple hand pie for her and left a bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies in the mailbox.
Other days, Rory sits in the chair by the front window and barks (a special bark reserved for Marissa) when she sees the mail truck drive by. On days when we don’t see her on our walks, we often find two Milk Bones on the front doormat.
This is about so much more than Milk Bones.
It’s about how a simple gesture—a small kindness—can turn into something so much greater. How generosity builds connection, and connection creates joy. It’s piecing together these little moments into a patchwork of community and friendship.
These interactions have become a highlight of our days.
I was reading a novel recently with a character who used to say, “Hold the moment.” It’s a way to mark time as you’re living it, to acknowledge the good, and appreciate the little things. Life isn’t always easy, and that makes this practice all the more worthwhile.
In addition to Milk Bones on the doormat, here are a few other moments I’m holding on to this month:
The colored lights on the spruce tree at the end of our street / Rory tucking herself into bed at night / The smell of caramelizing onions in a cast-iron skillet / A warm cup of tea in cold hands / The Ella Fitzgerald Christmas record / A glint of sun across the piano keys in the morning / Hot honey drizzled on homemade pizza / A line of poetry that stays with you / Dinner by candlelight
Hold the moment, be kind, and pass the Milk Bones.
