~johann wolfgang von goethe
a few days ago, just before i started to write 'thank you' notes
to guests who attended scout's birthday party,
i received an email from evite asking if i wanted to send electronic thank yous.
unlike the boys' past birthdays, this year's invitations were not paper.
with so much going on,
i decided to forgo the paper invitations and sent evite invitations.
sending electronic thank you cards however,
was not something i could bring myself to do.
even though life moves at 100 mph,
and with all the technology available at my fingertips,
handwritten thank you cards are non-negotiable for me.
maybe it's because they have become more rare,
that when someone takes the time to actually sit down
and write a heartfelt note and put a stamp on a card, it's special.
i treasure the ones i receive - posting them on our family magnet
board or on my piano for days - sometimes weeks.
if the message resonates with me or the card is super cute/unique,
i might even tuck away in a box somewhere to look back on.
my parents were big believers of handwritten letters.
as children, my siblings and i were encouraged to write our grandparents once a month -
usually on sundays after church. both sets of my grandparents lived in indiana and since we rarely had the opportunity to visit them, this was our way of staying in touch.
i think this is when my love affair of the handwritten letter began - not just writing them,
but receiving them too. i'd anxiously await a letter in the mail from grandma shappard.
i still remember her handwriting today and hope that i have a letter of two of hers saved in my keepsake box, which my mother is still holding on to.
yes, i'm a lover of handwritten notes.
i have saved notes with the 'pull here' tab that i passed back and forth with my girlfriends,
letters from boys i had crushes on in middle school, every note/card christopher gave me when we were dating, as well as every anniversary card to date.
call me strange or old-fashioned, but i hope the handwritten letter never fully goes away.
i appreciate the gift of effiency and accuracy the computer allows us, but it doesn't provide a truly personal touch. as long as i can write, this tradition is one that will continue for me and my family.
