In our fast digital age, how often do we take the time to write a letter by hand, send a gift (self-picked and self-packed), or even walk over to a friend’s house? Many time-taking social rituals have become near extinct, as our digital, virtual, and electronic lives rush into the future.

Well, the other day, I had the true pleasure of receiving a REAL package from my loving grandmother in Europe. She is from a time when people took effort to perform simple(now) tasks in their daily lives, and when everything was done by hand. No generic envelopes or force-fed commercial packing. Here is a picture of her package:

And inside:

And inside that? Well, you know, some german toothpaste I asked for (for my birthday), plus some typical german chocolate (Milka - you can’t get it here, really), plus some other little things, all neatly packed tight - you could tell she put thought into the whole thing.

You should have seen my face walking out with it at the post office: gleaming. I felt so special! Also, you should have seen all the passersby eyeing my box - they knew it was a unique treat you don’t see too often nowadays.