It's a good thing I only had to go to the post office once this holiday season.

At the only local post office that's open on a Sunday, there was a line waiting, even before it opened its doors at noon. I figured I'd let the initial crowd dissipate, and come back later.

At 2 p.m., the line was out the door and into the mall. Luckily, I had a sandwich with me, so I killed a few minutes eating egg salad on marble rye.

Thirty minutes later, I was done. The two packages were handed over, and I even had some new stamps. Now, I just sit and wait to hear that they've arrived. Sure, I sent them by Priority Mail, but I wasn't about to spring for Delivery Confirmation.