Apology for Inactivity

[jewelldelis]

Hello PostFamily,

Firstly, I just wanna thank those who reached out to me over the last 2 months. Your concern for my inactivity is so heartwarming.

Secondly, I owe a HUGE apology to EVERYONE for my sudden and prolonged absence. I started a new job at the end of August. We had to fight with the mortgage company to not foreclose on my house after they wanted a year of back mortgage packets that built up while I was unemployed and on a forbearance plan. We finally got that situated, then my husband lost his job…

The last few months have not been financially kind to us and I haven’t been able to put the emotional or physical efforts into what used to be such a passion of mine.

I owe a huge apology to the people waiting for postcards, to the RR groups I joined and didn’t participate in, to the members of my two RRs who I abandoned without a host, and to the admins and hosts who had to clean up in my absence.

I want to make things right. I have everyone’s cards and envelopes set aside (I haven’t even opened or read them). I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to respond or participate in everything, but I want to try.

You guys are my friends, my family, and I miss each and every one of you.

I’m not online often, so I won’t see messages here promptly, but would love to continue communicating with those who would like to chat. I have Discord, Telegram, and WhatsApp. Email is also an option. I don’t want to violate any terms by posting my contact details here, so if you’re interested, send me a message. I’ll do my best to respond.

I love y’all. I miss y’all. And I hope you forgive me for my horrid disappearance.

Jewell

Update: Thank you all for your kind words. And thank you @vogelwikje and @wurzelsofie for taking over my RRs. I appreciate you both.
Thank you @anon95027724 for your incredibly kind gesture. I’m gonna do my best to wriggle back into postcard writing by responding to those who are waiting on me.

I’m not 100% back…or even 50% back…I even put my main account on Inactive at this point. Not really sure what my activity will be like, but I’ll try to keep in touch.

[HookedonPostcards]

First priorities: shelter, food, taking care of yourself and your partner.
The rest will come as they can.
Postcrossing is a hobby, for enjoyment, when able. Not to be an additional life stressor.
Please … take care of your ‘house’ and your ‘self’. See you here when the dust settles.

[mchay]

i’m so happy just to hear that you’re okay!

there is nothing to forgive you for. cards are not a priority in life. taking care of yourself is. no one is blaming you for doing just that.
i can only wish you all the best with everything. we will still be here when you want and can come back. no hurry.

[TwasBrillig]

Sending hugs! And blessings for endurance and strength through this tough time.

[anon95027724]

Hello Jewell,

Thank you for a touching and thoughtful post. I concur with what the others have said. You certainly have your priorities in order. The past 2 years have been challenging for practically everyone. Health issues, employment problems, instability, etc. The thing is that sometimes they can overwhelm us.

In the past, a member here …a long-time trader with me was ready to pack it in…leave PostCrossing and inquired about selling her collection to me. She was having great stress in her life. I suggested she step away from Postcrossing, swapping, postcards, etc. for a while. When things start to settle, you can evaluate the hobby and where you wish to go. That is what she did; she now is involved with PostCrossing again and swaps. So, Jewell, you may need to take a hiatus from this as well.

Regarding fulfilling the swaps, etc. that you are behind in, I have a suggestion for you. I can “angel” some of those swaps for you. Ideally, I can best do that with in-envelope swaps. I have a huge inventory of postcards here and, apart from the most esoteric subjects, I usually have something on hand. Something to think about…

[HookedonPostcards]

@anon95027724 - you are so kind, and so clever! Heartwarming wisdom, with such a thoughtful and beautiful solution: angel(ing)! You’ve given me a new image of a Postcrosser: (Postcard Angel).

[CrimsonKing]

It’s great to see you back Jewell!!

[anon95027724]

@HookedonPostcards

@CaptainSoul - you are so kind, and so clever! Heartwarming wisdom, with such a thoughtful and beautiful solution: angel(ing)! You’ve given me a new image of a Postcrosser: (Postcard Angel).

I got the idea a few years ago. Some members in Postcard RRs or tags never got their cards from other people. The hosts/moderators were frustrated. Not fair to them to step in and fulfill what was due. So they let me know who was waiting, and I “angeled” the missing cards, letting the member know why they were receiving cards from me - and not the designated member.

[jewelldelis]

Thank you all for your kind words. You have no idea how much that means to me.

[ScubaET]

Happy cake day Jewell (Postcrossing forum anniversary) !

I don’t have much to add to what others have said, but when someone so enthusiastic and active ‘disappears’, worry is the first that comes to mind and then hoping that they will be alright at some point.

Glad to hear you’re getting closer to that point, even having brain space to think about your hobby and people you share that love with!
I hope all will work out well in the end and that you will find back joy in postcrossing

[vogelwikje]

Dear jewelldelis,
No hard feelings here. I am glad to hear something from you, and that it was not a health like issue.
Just take all the time you need to get your life together. That is so much more important than postcrossing.
I quite enjoyed getting your RR up to date, I have enough time at my hands and loved the get to know you RR. I am really glad that you set it up, and I am grateful to be te host now.
I hope your life will get together and better soon! Just take your time to process this all.

[wurzelsofie]

I completely agree with the others, I’m just glad you are okay!
And it’s no trouble at all to host the Weird RR, so don’t worry about that.

Take all the time you need to care for yourself and your family - your real life is more important than postcrossing!

[scoutingbear]

So good to see your name in the forums! I understand about the stress of a new job. I went from working just a couple days a week to full time and needing to make totally different arrangements and my brain is still drained each day from the job. So I empathize with you. I have a long list of RR that I joined before my job start that are now just closing and it’ll be slow but I’ll get caught up eventually because for me the joy is in sending. I just don’t have the brainpower every night to do as many as I did before!

Take your time coming back, but it’s so good to see your name around and know that you are okay.

[jewelldelis]

Thank you again, everyone. You really are like a family to me. I’ve managed to respond to a few of my penpals, but I’m still working through everything.