Naperville Grandmother's Gift To Grandson In China Arrives Three Months After She Mailed It

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A delayed but good ending to a postal problem for a Naperville grandmother.

Lenor Chemers sent her grandson in China a cross necklace in May as a gift for his first Holy Communion, and it finally arrived three months later.

After she mailed it, it took about 70 days just to leave Chicago, then about three weeks to get from Chicago to her grandson in Beijing.

It's not the first time a gift she mailed to her grandson, Avner, has been delayed.

Chemers used to visit her grandson and son in Beijing twice a year.

"With COVID, I'm not able to travel to be with them," Chemers said.

Even before COVID, she'd often send them gifts in the mail to stay connected - priority mail international. She said it used to take a week or two, but lately, they're not even leaving the US in that time.

"As a grandmother, I don't want to disappoint my kids - and this is very disappointing," Chemers said.

In the case of an earlier package she sent Dec. 1, each stop is listed from Naperville to Texas to Chinese Customs to Beijing. But even that package didn't leave Chicago until five weeks after she mailed it.

Beijing may be 6,000 miles from Naperville, but Chemers said the delays are happening right here.

"Once everything has gotten to China, it's been very quick," she said.

We've reported story after story of frustrated customers wondering why their mail wasn't moving.

The U.S. Postal Service has repeatedly blamed delays on staffing challenges during the pandemic.

Postal expert Kevin Kosar of the American Enterprise Institute said Chicago is especially hard-hit by recent postal delays.

"There's a lot of mail sorting plants in that area," Kosar said. "So if anything goes wrong at any of those plants, it's going have ripple effects - first immediately in Chicago, and then the surrounding area."

When asked what message would be to the Postal Service, Chemers said, "Please get your act together."

As for Avner's First Holy Communion gift, the big day has already passed, but at least his grandmother's gift has finally arrived.