Woman moving homes thanked mailman of 22 years with a letter. He left her a note and it completely broke her

Madison Vaughan (@sauceaccount06) spent her holiday season sipping coffee, assembling heaps of brown cardboard boxes, and washing stacks of dishes and piles of laundry. Just before the New Year, she moved into her new apartment where she spent her time baking, vacuuming, cleaning, and singing. But when she placed some orders for things like lighting, Bamba slippers, and towels, it suddenly struck her that she was heartbroken. She was missing her old mailman, especially after the precious token of love he had gifted her before moving in. In a TikTok video that has garnered over 550,000 views, Vaughan shared her heartfelt exchange with her former mailman, Tim. The video left people in puddles of tears.

“I’ve lived in the same neighborhood for about 22 years,” Vaughan said in the video. Donning a brown hoodie, Vaughan appeared teary-eyed as she spoke and flashed a white envelope. Cardboard cartons stacked against her old house’s walls peeked in the background. “I lived down the street from my mom and I’m moving to a new address where he won’t be my mailman anymore. And so I wrote him a card and gave him money for the holidays and thanked him for being my mailman.” As she said this, she clenched her hoodie, twitched her face, and pressed her lower lip as if holding back tears.

She revealed that the letter carrier returned her favor with an unexpected gift. “He wrote such a thoughtful thing,” she said, showing a Christmas greeting card with a message the mailman had scribbled on its inner flap. Tim wished her good luck with the move and signed the card with the line, "It has been a pleasure being your mailman." Vaughan choked and thumped her chest with a heart-wrenching fist. With puffy cheeks and red-rimmed eyes, she slapped her forehead and cupped her lips, expressing the sadness she would feel while parting with Tim. "This is my first apartment; I grew up here pretty much; I grew into my adult life. This ruined me! I'm going to keep it forever," she said.

Even though Tim was not very close to Vaughan, she fondly recalled the childhood memories she had with him. “I remember anticipating when he would drop off my school schedule and even my college acceptance letters,” she told PEOPLE. She described watching Tim “get gray hair,” how his knee had gotten bad over the years, and how he waited at the bottom of the stairs so he wouldn’t have to walk up. Vaughan also revealed that the timing of her move coincided with Tim’s retirement.

“He’s been a walking mailman for 27 years, so that’s a long time to be walking 10 miles a day,” she reflected.

Meanwhile, flurries of people who watched Vaughan’s video chimed in to share sentimental comments. “Why am I crying over YOUR mailman,” wrote @brittany.otoole, with sobbing emojis. @kye.e called the episode “A beautiful chapter closing on all ends.” @itsumici said, “As a mail carrier this is the cutest thing!”

Others shared stories of their mailmen and how they too felt connected to them. “My mailman did something similar and wrote ‘from Mickey Mouse birthday cards to college acceptance letters, it’s been a pleasure to deliver them all.’ I cried,” shared @jjdenver0. @_bunnicula_11 said, “My childhood mailman came to my mom’s funeral and I lost it."

You can follow Madison Vaughan (@sauceaccount06) on TikTok for vlogs shared from her new home!