Snail Mail Muse

Snail Mail

Snail mail is what main stream has begun calling letters sent through the post office. I've read in various places how people are becoming okay (conditioned) with Happy Birthday's just posted to facebook or e-cards sent through email. I'm afraid I sometimes fall under that category too. But I still value and treasure cards for any occasion, or none at all, sent through Snail Mail. :)

I  When I was a young girl I used to have pen pals. I'm not sure how it is today, but then we were in School we were encouraged to keep pen pals and correspond regularly with them. I used to have "summer" friends when I lived in Sunland. We would hang out all summer when their families were vacationing on the lake and when Labor Day came we would say or goodbye's until next June. Through out the school year we would write to each other. I loved picking out the pretty stationary and matching envelope to write on. Come to think of it, I still do :)  

We would share our school days and fill our stationary with our latest crushes, sports we were in, favorite books and all sorts of little girl frills. I would always use my best penmanship. Careful not to make any mistakes. June would arrive and we would giggle with excitement for we hadn't seen one another for nine months! Their hair was always in a new style and they were always a bit taller. I'm sure I was different too. I treasure that time of my childhood. I definitely do not believe in a "paperless society."

There is something exciting and good for our hearts when we open our letter box to find something sent other than nagging unforgiving bills and ads. My mother still sends us hand made cards for every special occasion and holiday. To her birthdays are not just another day as other families treat them. Nor is the first day of Spring. Does anyone celebrate May Day? May day is the first day in May. 
You gather fresh flowers in a basket and leave them on someone specials' door step for them to find. Isn't that a great old tradition? We used to celebrate it growing up and I still have my children do it. Before we moved to the evergreen state the kids usually picked Lilac & Forget Me Not blooms and give them to our dear sweet neighbor Ms. Ruby. 

I keep my cards and letters in pretty boxes. Someday when I have time I will go through them and reminisce through the years. I still have a beautiful birthday card that was given by my mother on my 17th birthday. That's almost an antique, now! :)  

Other than letters, I love handwritten recipe cards. You'll never catch me keeping recipes in some boring, sterile computer file. No way! That's fine for all you OCD friends (trust me I understand), but I'm perfectly content with the stained, spilled on recipe cards. My mother still pulls out her mother's recipes each time she need them. I love to see grandma's notes written in perfect slant cursive off to the side.
There have been rumors of schools around the United States removing cursive from their curriculum. You know, Language and Writing were my best subjects. All three of my children excel in them too. Well I refuse to conform. My children will be taught to write in cursive as long as I have anything to say about it. What a shame to remove such beautiful art from the American people. Some of Literature's finest publications were written in cursive. And so we are on the same page... printing is not the same as cursive. "Writing" actually means cursive while printing means to simply use letters in regular form. My grandparents would spend the majority of my homework hour debating this subject. Much to my dismay I missed the homework hour but came away with knowing full well the difference between "writing" and "printing." I grew up nervous to accidentally refer to print as writing and cursive as print careful not to confuse the two.

Literature's finest...our Early American Constitution was written in cursive. How beautiful it is with it's honest scribbles and scratch outs. How boring and impersonal had it been drawn up on Word Processor in perfect print!

It saddens me that today along with the various attempts to change such a beautiful ledger, also is it trying to be rewritten.

What would the beautiful Jane Austen have to say about the removal of the importance of cursive? Her books were indeed written in cursive. 

Lest, we forget the old Mother Goose books handwritten in cursive. 

This book is so beautifully written in cursive. 

I remember when it was no longer  acceptable by the teachers to turn in reports in penmanship. They required computer print. I was very disappointed and I knew things were drastically changing. In fact, I used to have a feather pen complete with an ink holder that sat on my little desk when I was a little girl.

St. Patrick's Day is vastly approaching and I think I will have the kids send out post cards to their cousins 
and far away friends this year. 
St. Patrick's Day is a lot of fun for children and adults, too. 
Green beer isn't bad, nor is getting kissed ;) 
Have a wonderful almost Spring day.