I rarely mail letters these days. I pay most bills online and for property taxes, which can't be paid online, I go in person to pay. A debit card works wonders for saving time. And with texting and e-mail, nobody sends letters anymore. Until this morning, I could not tell you the current cost of a postage stamp.
So I walked into the post office, handed the clerk two envelopes, each weighing less than an ounce. "That will be $1.36."
That took me by surprise. "How much is a stamp these days?" I asked.
"Sixty-eight cents" Then she added, "They will soon be 73 cents"
I can remember when it cost three cents to mail a letter. . . and there was one style to choose from.
When I was in college, gas was 25 cents a gallon. Even years later, when I was married with twin toddlers, I could buy a week's worth of groceries for less than $50.
The first house my husband and I bought back in the 70's - a nice suburban home in a nice neighborhood - was $48,000. That kind of money wouldn't buy a run down house in a bad neighborhood today.
And I was fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom during my sons' childhood. How many stay-at-home moms are out there today???
