Pen-pal cousins

(Geoffrey Whiteway/FreeRangeStock.com)

My daughter loves getting mail ... the old-fashioned kind.

Several months ago, my husband subscribed to Ranger Rick Jr. magazine for her, and few things make her smile more than when one of them comes in the mail.

"That's for me!" she'll say as soon as she recognizes the cover.

After I hand it to her, she'll disappear for about a half an hour as she checks out all of the animals in the issue.

A little over a week ago, she decided to share the joy with her cousin. She drew hearts and colored them in, then asked me for an envelope. She tucked her drawing in and asked me if I would give it a stamp and send it out with the mail.

"Well, we have to address it first," I said. Then I put the address on it, my husband affixed the postage, and off it went.

My niece, who is 9, got it in the mail over the weekend, and she, too, loved getting it. Her mother told me that we should be expecting a reply in the mail soon.

I cannot wait to see the look on my daughter's face when she gets it.