SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — 17 years as a USPS letter carrier means Jae Martin has made it through 17 holiday seasons on the job.
"This is our March Madness, our Superbowl, and our world cup all rolled into one," said Martin, as the preparation for one of her daily routes in North Park.
Martin got into the mail business through her family but came to love each day on the job.
"It's the joy that I bring to my customers. That's the one thing that I truly love about my job, a lot of my customers have become family," said Martin.
Every shift, the letter carried says she walks about eight miles.
"It doesn't feel like I'm exhausted at the end of the day because it's something that I really love to do," said Martin.
Veronica Lawrence lives on Martin's route and the two see one another roughly three times per week.
"She knows me and everyone on the street. She even knows my dog," said Lawrence, attesting to how much her letter carrier cares about the community.
Martin says the number of packages she delivers during the holiday season more than doubles.
"I think we know they're here, we just always assume they're going to be here," said Lawrence, acknowledging that mail carriers can be taken for granted.
Martin says some customers leave cookies out for her during the Christmas month.
