slowing down

introducing the pitter patter mail club

i didn’t realize what an important role mail played in the rhythm of my life until the canada post strikes last year (for those not in canada, canada post is our national postal service).

in 2025, our postal workers rightfully went on strike in response to a bunch of new cost cutting measures. they were also advocating for better pay, benefits and pensions.

suddenly, we stopped getting mail from canada post. important bills, packages, letters, and birthday cards. all stuck. i instinctively kept checking my mailbox every day until, after a few weeks, i stopped.

for some reason, the 1%, the powers that be, think that mail—a fundamental service—should now, after more than a hundred years, generate revenue.

we’re seeing a similar tune in the US, with the president calling USPS a “joke” and threatening to privatize it so it makes more money.

between canada and the US, we have billions of dollars for war, but we can’t figure out a way to fund the post office? to give postal workers the compensation they deserve?

i think back to last summer when canada post workers went on strike. though i didn’t receive mail for weeks, when i did get mail, it wasn’t from my friendly postal worker, brian, a gentlemen with grey hair and an easygoing smile who always addressed me and my dog by name when i ran into him on walks.

it was a bunch of different workers, maybe on call, picking things up here and there during what i’m sure was a very chaotic time.

months later, brian isn’t around anymore. my best guess is that he retired. i hope the strike got him a better pension. i wish i got to say goodbye and thank him for delivering my mail and being a bright light on my morning walks.

but instead of being replaced by one person doing the same route every day, there are always new faces delivering the mail now.

i’m tired of the simple things getting taken away from us. a once steady, lifelong career now more frequently being chopped up sparingly into part-time work.

i want meaningful connections with the people around me. i want to have a chat with the barista i’ve known for years at a coffee shop. i don’t want to mobile order. i want to praise spring’s return with my neighbours while standing around on the sidewalk. not complain about what neighbour did what on an app. i want to joke with someone in line at the grocery store instead of ordering everything to be delivered.

i don’t want AI—conversations, art, books or otherwise.

i want to slow down. and i want to send and receive mail.

enter: the pitter patter mail club.

a letter, original poetry print and sticker, all designed by me (with zero AI use) and printed by businesses in ontario–in your mailbox once a month.

april’s letter is, of course, inspired by slowing down (and vienna by billy joel).

i am so excited by this project. to create cute packages. to colour coordinate everything. to take on the ADHD challenge of getting your mail shipped on time. to receive your letters in response.

sign up is until the 21st every month and envelopes will ship on the 1st.

if you want to slow down with me, you can find out more here: