Last Sunday? Check!! Beat Jon? Check, Check!!!

Yesterday Jon and I completed our LAST SUNDAY for PAPERS!!! I still cannot even believe that this is finally going to happen! This week will probably bring several paper-related posts, because the end of this phase in life has been provoking much thought! I am attaching some pictures, because if you have never seen the monstrosity that is a Sunday paper assembly line, I thought I'd give you a peek. (WARNING--LONG PICTURE POST!!)

Before that, though, I would like to announce to all of my friends who are local and read this that we are gonna CELEBRATE!!! Wooo--Hooo!!! This Saturday, EVERYONE WE KNOW is invited to come drop by and hang out this Saturday afternoon. Doors will open around 3 or so, and I'll put some dinner out around 5 or so. This is just a purely fun, come hang out, no-real-agenda party--meant just to celebrate with us and visit. We don't care how long you stay--BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE TO GET UP TO DO THE PAPERS THAT NIGHT!!!! :) Ya-hoo! If you know me, or Jon, you are invited! Your kids are invited! If you don't know where we live, email me!


Saturday afternoon/night we always go pick up the inserts at the drop. There are always at least 2, often 3, sections to pick up. These sections have to be inserted manually into the Sunday papers. The actual Sunday paper comes out Sunday morning. We put the inserts on our porch so if it rains they won't get wet. These 2 pictures are the inserts on our front porch.


Sunday mornings I get up about 2:30 and go to the drop to pick up the "fronts"-the actual Sunday paper that they print during the night. Here is a typical view at the drop--most of the carriers set up shop and wrap papers right there. I bring them home so Jon can help me. (The lights are not really green. I don't know why the lights at the drop always turn out green!)

This is my friend Mark...He and his wife Lisa have been doing paper routes for almost 20 years!!! Hats off to them! They are great people, and I am especially grateful for having met them because of my paper routes!
These are the "fronts" that I picked up. 12 bundles/40 papers each + some extras.

This picture is fuzzy, but I had to put it in here!!! It makes me laugh--Jon the gangsta! Ha!!! When I bring the fronts home, I go get Jon. (He usually gets up about 3:15 or 3:30.) He comes downstairs and gets the seats out while I set up the tables and get out the bags.

Let the work begin...

Starting out empty....don't mind the nasty carpet and all the toys and junk. I tell you--my car is a WORK car! It's always a mess, and the best thing about Sunday papers is that my trash gets thrown away that day, every week!

This is my work station. I use an old ironing board that will not collapse to stack my papers. I hang my bags from the handle that you're supposed to use to pull the back door down. See the 5 sections--left to right is the Kemp's Ad section, Comics, Life Section, Business Section, Fronts. We have a little more than 500 papers, so we have to put them together, one by one, til they're gone!

This is Jon's station. He works on the passenger side--first filling up the passenger floorboard and seat, then throwing in the side door.

In 3 1/2 years, I have had several combinations of routes--1 route, then 2 routes, then Jordan was born so back to one route, then back to 2 routes. For the first few months I did the papers at the drop by myself, but then I started bringing them home so Jon could help me. I always tease him that I am a faster wrapper than he is, and he always makes up some excuse about how I started early, or he had to go in the house to do something or whatever as a reason for why I beat him. Well, last week he told me that this Sunday was the final showdown. Once and for all, we were going to duke it out to see who was faster. Divide the papers exactly even. Start at the same time. If someone goes into the house, the other has to stop and wait. Once and for all. Here is Jon--notice, I even took away from my "wrapping time" to get an action shot!

Uh-Oh!!! Whose station is empty first??? MINE!! :) I KNEW I was faster--Wooo Hooo!! :)

Jon still had 24 papers to go!!!

Our last van-ful of Sunday papers!

Here's the side view...

THE LAST SUNDAY PAPER!!!

This is the mess that we always have from the papers that are put on top of the bundles--this is just Jon's pile!

Well, there you have it! Lots of pictures, but that's what it takes! We have had a few subs in the course of 3 1/2 years, but give or take a few we have done about 170 Sundays! I have done several myself. Jon has done several by himself too. We have done MANY together. We have done them sick. We have done them well. We have done them silly and happy; upset and angry. We have done them sweating hot and freezing cold, wet and dry. For the last year we have wrapped them together, then Jon goes and throws them for me. It has really made the whole paper route thing more manageable to not have such a killer day on Sunday. I so appreciate that he would sacrifice his time and sleep to make it better and easier for me.

Although it makes Sunday a VERY long and tiring day, one of my favorite things about doing Sunday papers is spending that time getting to talk to Jon. I truly cherish the time we have spent together doing this long, seemingly-never-ending task together. We have sung songs, talked about the week, had serious talks, made plans for our future, dreamed together. I must say that I will miss this set-aside time--but hopefully it shouldn't be too hard to reschedule this special time for normal 'awake' hours!!!

So here it is...my final farewell to Sunday papers! Adieu!