A Trip To The Mailbox

This week's scoop is brought to you by New York Times Best Selling author and illustrator Ben Clanton who is also a devoted Sip and Ship customer.

One of my chores growing up was to check the mailbox. It was a chore I actually really enjoyed because while walking to the mailbox I'd dream of all the fantastic things that might be awaiting me inside of it. These daydreams could get pretty out there . . .

Such as a letter from Michael Jordan saying he had heard I was a fan and wanted me to come to a game, or an invitation to an early entry NASA astronaut program for kids. Of course, there was hardly ever any mail for me in actuality but the daydreams alone were magic.

Nowadays I receive things like narwhals, waffles, dragons and potatoes in the mail! Or, I should say I receive drawings of those things (with exception to the potato which I get both drawings of and the actual thing) from readers of the books I write and illustrate.

I receive reader mail at Sip and Ship, which has been such a sweet spot (especially when I opt to have a cookie) to sit for a bit and send responses and often drawings in return. In my experience, the Sip and Ship crew gets how magical mail can be.

That sending something in the mail doesn't have to be an errand but that it can also be an experience . . . something that brings joy.