I used to live for the mail. I couldn’t wait to get to the mailbox and see what was in there. Bills? Magazines? An actual hand-written note? But I’m over it now. In fact, days might go by before I actually get to the mailbox. And I’ve let many of my magazine subscriptions lapse, like my formerly beloved Us magazine. The reason? Our mailbox is down the mountain a ways, in a bank of boxes along with all of our neighbors. And so to get the mail now? It entails far too much work. Like loading two girls into their car-seats. No thanks. I suppose it has something to do with the weather up here, all of the snow and the steep terrain of the roads. And that perhaps mail-trucks don’t have 4-wheel drive? Although I have seen our mailman. And he drives a Jeep Wrangler. A car I myself drove in college. With 4-wheel drive.

But it seems my passion for mail has been passed on to Pea. Every time we happen by the bank of boxes, she asks if we can stop and see if there’s anything in the mail for her. And it can wreck her mood for a little while if there isn’t something with her name on it. But I’ve learned how to fix that. Catalogs work in a pinch. And now that we have two kids, we get a ton of child-related catalogs. Pea thinks they are magazines, and she’s very content to leaf through them in the backseat.

But she also has a subscription to three magazines. I consider these magazines to fall under the same category of books, of which I cannot say no to. We’re doing our best to raise readers in this house. Voracious readers. One of them is published via the National Wildlife Federation, and it’s called “Wild Animal Baby.” We are passionate about animals in our home, wildlife included. Maybe even more so since moving to the mountains and finding a mama coyote in our backyard every morning, surely looking for food for her family. And of course, let’s not forget about Juicebox, our beloved moose. And I hope to pass that passion on to our girls. For animals and for conservation. And so we’re starting early.

This particular magazine is sweet. You’re not going to find any long and detailed articles in it. But you will find that it’s small enough to fit in little hands. And it’s sturdy enough to withstand little teeth. And it’s filled with vibrant photographs of animals and their natural habitats and educational games and rhymes.

In addition, Pea also has a subscription to “Ladybug” magazine, which is put out by a publisher who specializes in children’s magazines. And she loves it. It’s a real magazine, soft pages, just like mommy’s. And it’s about literature, teaching kids to love books and stories and words. There is a serial story in there that she can follow from issue to issue and there are poems and activities. Although not as tough as it’s younger sibling version, “Babybug,” she loves it nonetheless.

And so I just ordered Pea a new subscription to “Click” magazine, from the same publisher. It’s science-based. And we’re all for well-rounded kids!

And “Babybug?” It’s perfect for her little sister, Coco. Much like “Wild Animal Baby,” it’s small and sturdy and more like a book than a magazine. We have stacks of them from when Pea was little. And while I’m pretty sure Coco has no idea just yet that she’s received something in the mail with her name on it, I’m sure that day isn’t too far off…