The Joy of Handwriting

my nice stash of mail for this month

March is the month when  I have a lot of mail to send off. Not bills, birthday cards and St. Patrick's Day Cards. So if your a March baby and you know how I am when it comes to writing letters...look in your mailbox for a treat!

I Love to write.

Ask my family. Ask any of my friends that we have in common with. Every time I walk into a Michael's, Staples, Papyrus or any T. J. Maxx store, I run straight to the stationery section. It's my mother's fault. One of the greatest qualities my mother had was always finding the time to write to her friends and family that lived out of state. I remember how happy it made her feel when she would sit down and write. Her handwriting was so nice and neat (it still is.) I also remember the look on her face as she would mail them off. I can tell that sending off handwritten letters made her just as happy as her receiving them. She doesn't write as much as she used to due to her gout acting up, and that's okay. She has a good excuse.

What's your excuse? 

Some of us may not write because we think we have bad handwriting or we just can't find the time to do it. Maybe we don't want to spend money on postage or drive to the nearest post office. My days are busy too, but I CHOOSE to find the time to write back to that person who took their time in writing to me.  Sometimes I'll respond back that same day or later on that week. Point being...I reply.

One of my best attributes is handwriting letters.

Even though I've started a blog, have email, unlimited texting on my cell phone plan and Facebook...I still find the time to write handwritten letters. Not everyone is a 'writer'. I know it's much easier to type "Happy Birthday" on some one's Facebook page than send a card or call them on the phone. I know it's the thought that counts but still...isn't it nice to receive a pretty colored, decorated envelope other than bills and junk mail in your mailbox? Sometimes when I've had a rough week or an unpleasing day, I surprisingly will receive a nice letter in the mail.  Sometimes good mail comes in the most opportune time, and that has happened to me a lot!

For some of us it's easier to just send a quick message via email, text, or Facebook. The world today has  surrounded us with a vast amount of technology that handwriting has become a 'lost art'. I don't want it to become a lost art in our home. I have taught my girls (since they were about four) to send cards and encourage them to handwrite letters to loved ones every once in a while. It's now become habitual for them to send thank you cards every time they receive a gift, and reply to a letter once someone has written to them. I believe its common courtesy to do that and also good manners. I hope that this is one habit they will never break and that they will carry it on to their future posterity as well.

I stumbled upon this book on a friend's blog a while back and ordered it right away. This book reassured me how much more meaningful it is to handwrite a letter and how it can truly help someone who is struggling to get in the habit of writing. So if you feel you are having trouble on how to even begin to write letters...this is the book for you!

I write a lot of personal letters too. 

Sometimes a little too personal that I feel I may have written things expressed out of anger and stress. I know a lot of us have done that. I haven't written any offensive letters lately nor do I want to-that's what journals are for and I'll write about that later. I decided to order this book called "The Art of the Personal Letter", by Margaret Shepherd. I should be receiving it in a few days. I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it'll be a great self help book for writers. 

I feel so much better when I handwrite letters. It has become a form of therapy for me.  If I didn't enjoy writing I wouldn't have started this blog or spent money on buying this card box at Costco. It holds various cards for every occasion. When I run out of cards, I'll either make, or buy more cards and add to it.

 I thank my mom for exhibiting her example to me at such a young age. That was one good thing that I learned from my childhood...writing letters.

"In an age like ours, which is not given to letter-writing, we forget what an important part it used to play in people's lives."

~Anatole Broyard