Thank Yous, Paper and Pen

I heard it's National Card and Letter Writing Month!

In fact, the news came from a fun little website I discovered recently, The Art of Manliness. Check them out for all things Man.

Go with me while I try and tie a few thoughts together, tied all up into one blog topic.

The news of National Card and Letter Writing Month took my brain to the memory that there are handwritten thank you cards on my table right now to be mailed.  And one thank you note received this week from a young adult.

I was just so impressed when I got this card in the mail. So few people take the time for handwritten anything nowadays, and handwritten thank yous are becoming more rare. Verbal thank yous are not lacking, thank goodness, but let's face it, isn't it fun to get something handwritten in the mail??

I try and always have my own girls do thank you cards. We don't hit 100% in the busyness of life, but it is definitely a manner I hope they take into adulthood with them. These are almost ready to be mailed.

Following this train of thought, I'd like to introduce you to another website also found through the fabulous world of Facebook, Manners Mentor, Inc. This is an impressive website on all things manners in today's world, including things like cell phone ettiquette.

If you read the Art of Manliness article, it will take you back to the long gone days of formal letter writing. Reminds me of the movie "Kate and Leopold" with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman.  Hugh Jackman comes forward in time to modern day. His formal ettiquette is found to be bizarre and humorous to the modern day characters, but in the end, Meg Ryan's character is won over by the honorable way he treats her.

Way back when, there was no way to communicate besides writing. Even when I was in college, not that long ago, the highlight of our day was checking to see if there were any notes left for us in the "note box" in the dorm lobby. All we had was handwritten notes and telephone calls (one phone in our room, attached to the wall). 

I still have every note my husband left me in that little note box while we were dating in college. Back then, amazingly enough, I put them all in order, and it tells a great little story. These poor kids nowadays will not have a handwritten history like that. (sniff, sniff.) They don't know what they're missing!

Recently I saw this cool story on the news. A lady is making jewelry out of old letters that her grandparents wrote back and forth in WWII, telling their love story. She calls it Wearable History. You can watch the video HERE.

Wrapping this all up?

1.  I like manners.
2.  I like handwritten notes.
3.  I appreciate websites that are trying to keep and bring back forms of ettiquette.
4.  I hope and wish younger people keep up handwritten communication.
5.  I love paper. My daughter and I went into sensory overload at a store in Dallas called Paper Source.  If you get inspired to pick up a pen, they have some beautiful paper!!