USPS mail carrier says bond with community motivates her during busy holiday season

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- It's anticipated that more than 950 million packages are delivered between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

No small feat and the packages arrive thanks to the dedicated men and women who work for various mail companies.

Santa Claus may be making his last minute preps before the big day Saturday.

But, he's not the only one delivering packages to little girls and boys.

"We're Santa Claus helpers, just dressed in blue," USPS City Carrier Nahima Aguiniga said.

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The holiday season is the busiest time of the year for USPS Carriers like Aguiniga, but the work never slows down.

Route to route, house to house, her job for the past four years has been to make sure the people of San Jose get their mail.

"It's a responsibility that I take very heavily, I don't take it lightly," Aguiniga said. "I enjoy what I do, I've always enjoyed it and I think it's one of the funnest jobs I've ever had."

What she calls fun, others call hard work.

Aguiniga works 6 days a week, delivering hundreds to thousands of pieces of mail over a 10 to 14 hour day.

At a brisk pace to make sure the job gets done, she walks upwards of 20 miles in one shift.

And let's not forget the work conditions.

"Rain, sleet, snow, fire, pandemic and anything that can come between us, the post office is always here," Aguiniga said.

Braving the elements and now a global pandemic.

One of the few essential workers that have not gotten a break throughout COVID-19, the single mom of two has been on her route every day, even putting herself at risk of exposure to get the job done.

"I had to quarantine myself from my own child because of the mail," Aguiniga said. "It was hard."

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Difficult and challenging, yet she still pushes forward step by step.

"It's my second family," Aguiniga said. "I see them every day. I build a bond with them, you know? I see mothers and I see the babies grow up. So I've seen the kids grow up from one to four years old and I want to make sure everything is there for them."

So however you celebrate the holidays, don't forget how the gifts, food, cards and everything else may have gotten there.