Postal Service

Quote:

“Writing letters is my fun thing that I get to do in a day. It’s a little bit of self-care, connection, community, because I'm hoping these letters put a smile on someone else's face. Someone that I care about. And it brings me so much joy to get to do it.”

Quote by Helen Rottier

Image:

Knitted envelope pillow

Image description: A knitted pillow in the shape of an envelope. It has black squiggle lines in the top left and center front that  imitate the return and mailing addresses. The top right corner has a blue and white stamp, roughly imitating the logo of the United States Postal Service. The pillow has short stripes of alternating green and purple around the edge. Buttons of bees, butterflies, ladybugs, and flowers are sewn on the front of the envelope.

Narrative:

Helen learned how to write letters as a child from her mother, and now she sends mail to family and friends around the country. Helen’s special interest extends far beyond writing letters; she enjoys everything mail related. “I want to know everything about the Postal Service,” Helen told me. “I’m ecstatic when I pass a mail truck on the street.” Helen loves being able to share fun facts about the Postal Service with people who might appreciate them, and she makes a point to go to the Postal Museum every time she visits Washington, DC. Even though she knows all the information in the museum, it’s a “safe haven” and “balm to the overwhelm of everything around me.”

Helen also enjoys swapping stickers through the mail and decorating the envelopes, hence the design of this pillow. Though Helen has other special interests that relate more closely to her career, she describes her Postal Service special interest as, “low stakes” and “just for me,” saying that “having this thing that's separate from my work life, separate from my daily life but that I can incorporate into my daily life as like a light that kind of guides me towards wellbeing.”