Special Deliveries

20 months. That’s how long our 2 children went without seeing their grandparents during the pandemic. It was a difficult time for them, seeing next to nobody for long periods of time. There were two people we did see regularly though: our Postman (called Bren) and our DPD driver, Ronan.

Bren, in particular, has become a family friend. He always tried to liven things up for the children during those long days at home. For example, he’d put his mask over his eyes and pretend to fall over. And one day, during a shower of hailstones, he appeared at the door with a bucket over his head.

When my son, James’s, birthday came around, we decided to get him a Postal Worker costume from My Little Uniform. It seemed like the perfect gift since he’d built up such a fun friendship with Bren. He couldn’t wait to show it to him and as soon as he did, Bren declared, “I’ll take him out with me!”

So, during the midterm break, James got all dressed up and headed out with Bren. Our community is very quiet and safe, without any busy roads to cross or traffic to worry about. On the day, Bren parked up and appeared with a post bag especially for James. James got to scan the parcels and Bren even taught him some of his special tricks, like using a doormat to keep an apartment block door open.

A particular highlight for James was having the chats with Bren as they walked. He was delighted when Bren said, “If I teach you to do a good job, I can retire and you can do my rounds.” Later on, James very cutely reported this as “Bren’s going to sit and eat sweets and I’ll deliver his post!”

During the Easter holidays, it was my daughter Caelinn’s turn to head out with Bren. This time, Bren had a few people lined up to answer the door for their parcels. Caelinn got to hand them over in person: a big responsibility!

The funny thing was that she even got to deliver her primary school acceptance letter to herself. And she was thrilled because since it was Easter, she came home with heaps of Easter eggs. I think she received more stuff than she delivered!

With both the children, Bren treated them like co-workers. He told Caelinn she was the best Postwoman he had ever worked with and it made her day. For James, the trip was the first normal childhood thing he’d done since the arrival of COVID-19. People on Instagram were saying how great it was to see a child doing something so fun and wholesome again.

Since then, Bren has moved to a night duty sorting post but he remains a special family friend. When I was growing up, my mum made sure she knew our Postmen’s names and she always chatted to them when she saw them.

Now, I really try to pass this attitude of respect and friendship on to my own children. In the summer, we offer ice pops to our Postman and in the winter we share our hand warmers with him. Our local Postal Workers have helped us out in lots of ways too, such as searching through a fleet of vans for a missing roll of fabric.

I really hope that these genuine friendships will carry on in my family for generations to come. Our Postal Workers know so much about us; it’s only right that we make the effort to know them too!

You might also like…