Why I Built MutualSwaps

For years, I drove 102 miles round trip every single day — from home, through Miami traffic, all the way out to Delray Beach. Some days the commute was two and a half hours each way.

I'd leave before sunrise and get home late, exhausted, with barely enough time to eat before doing it all over again. The stress was constant. I thought about quitting more times than I can count.

I started refusing mandatory overtime — not because I didn't need the money, but because I couldn't stomach the idea of getting home even later than I already was. I risked getting written up. I took that risk anyway.

There were days I called out “sick” just because I couldn't face the drive. Not because I was sick — because the commute had worn me down to the point where my body and mind just said no.

I wasn't looking to leave the Postal Service — I love the job. I just needed to work closer to home. So I started the reassignment transfer process. And then I waited. And waited.

It took years.

During that time I heard story after story from other carriers going through the exact same thing. Separated from family. Burning money on gas. Arriving home too tired to be present. Some had been waiting even longer than me.

The frustrating part was that somewhere out there, another carrier probably wanted to go exactly where I was — and I had no way to find them. We were both waiting, stuck in the same system, just unable to connect.