Mr Mailman...you are forgiven

As a child I had a pretty wild imagination. I spent a lot of time daydreaming and fantasizing about people, places and things that were far beyond my reach.

Around the age of nine give or take a couple of years I was convinced that I was destined to one day become Mrs Donnie Osmond. In order to do that certain things needed to happen. I had to meet my future husband.
The "Win a Date with Donnie Osmond" contest advertised in Tiger Beat magazine provided just the opportunity I needed to make the connection with my soon to be groom. I quickly filled in the blanks on the entry form and mailed it to the contest headquarters.

While waiting to hear from Donnie much thought was given about what to wear and whether or not to curl my hair with pink sponge rollers. These were life changing decisions.....sponge rollers gave me a terrible head ache and nothing made me crankier than a head ache except an empty stomach. I vowed to take a dose of Bayer and eat a large meal prior to Donnie's arrival. Some character flaws are best kept hidden until after the nuptials.

I clearly remember discussing this with my Aunt Betty who carefully listened and pretended to give consideration to my plight. I also turned to Betty when momma thought it was downright hilarious that I requested a new dress for the date. I was quite pleased that Betty agreed to buy a dress when I won the contest.

Donnie did not call and there was no date but it was not because he did not want to. Again, it was Betty who came to the rescue with a reasonable explanation. There was a very logical reason for Donnie's puzzling behavior. My entry had been lost in the mail and there was only one person to blame......the mailman. That no good, bill delivering jerk was the one person responsible for my broken heart.

I've often overheard my peers expressing the things they dislike most about getting older. The most common complaints include hair loss, gray hair, weight gain, bad vision, loss of hearing and the list goes on and on. I would put loss of imagination and the ability to dream without doubting the outcome at the top of the list. There's nothing quite like the childish suspense of knowing deep in your heart that something wonderful is going to happen at any moment.
On the upside of being a realistic adult I am happy to announce that I have forgiven mailman.