I take pleasure in bring a smile to someone's face and the simplicity of a friendly "hello" note creates a feeling of thoughtfulness that is sometimes hard to find in our everyday living. The power of the handwritten word can have profound impact on someone else, and will keep you fresh in their thoughts.
It is no secret that from a very young age I cherished school supplies and stationary and took pride in my "printing" skills. I vividly remember my grade 1 report cards and receiving an "H" for a printing grade. I could have cared less about all the other high achieving marks, I was beyond proud of my printing. Move on to grade 2 where I had a major melt down during class because the boy next to me had "stolen" my eraser I acquired in Cape Breton the summer before school started. I still remember the picturesque graphic on the eraser. It was a purple/blue expression of the "Highlands". I mean really, who else could possibly have an eraser from Cape Breton?!? Well Charles (eraser theft) could have because his grandparents also lived in Cape Breton and he too, spent a few weeks there each summer. At the end of the ordeal I think my dramatics over the bloody eraser convinced the teacher it was my eraser and not Charles' as he remained stunned during my whole emotional episode.
* Needless to say I hold stationary near and dear to my heart!
When Adam and I got married one thing I knew for sure I wanted to do was personally write notes to every single person who attended our showers and big day. I spent a great deal of time thinking about putting the meaning of "thoughtfulness and thankfulness" on paper, to express our gratitude to our guests! The thought of having so many individuals taking an afternoon/evening out of their important lives to celebrate "us" was just astounding to me and I needed to portray my appreciation, meaningfully and purposefully. The summer and fall of 2013 I spent many hours writing "thank you's" to all the special people in our lives.
One person I love writing notes to is my Nanny. Growing up I've always lived a 7-8 hour drive away from all of my grandparents and as I get older I tend to miss them more and more. Adam and I call my Nanny at least once a week. Our conversations usually stem around the weather, the happenings of our islands (Cape Breton and PEI) and of course, sports. We are all huge Habs fans so during these chilly Canadian winter nights, P.K Subban, Carey Price and Gallagher are hot topics. Although there is much cheer in my grandmothers voice, I know she longs to have my papa alive. For the man she use to share her daily thoughts with, to yell at the T.V. with and to say "good night" too. I have a supportive family who visits with my Nanny daily. They take great care of her and I'm beyond thankful for them. As we all grow older we quickly realize the importance of family. I envy my cousins who grew up close to my grandparents.
Every month or so I find an excuse to celebrate my nanny. I seek out jokes and sayings that I can send along to make her chuckle and smile. During Thanksgiving I reminded her in a card to watch out for others "turkey farts" as it was the season for the lingering smell. And for her birthday I told her to " get lucky".
It's all in fun but I know the little time it takes me to write a few words is a day worth of happiness for her and that means a lot to a granddaughter who doesn't get to see her Nanny often.
Today I'll be sending another little note along to Adam's aunt. This past week their dog has been ill and they experienced some tough decisions. While Baylie seems to be on the mend I wanted to send a card to Baylie from our dog Oliver. I thought is we sent this card that maybe it will lessen their worrying and bring a sparkle to their day.
In 2015 we are all busy trying to make a living. Some of us take a moment to stop and smell the roses and find meaning in shared happiness. The pen is a tool of discovery and letting it sail across the stationary without an agenda is a fulfilling and simple pleasure, that can easily be shared. The power of paper and making someone smile when no one is around is a beautiful thing. I encourage you all to lighten the lives of your friends and beloved by handwriting purposeful worth on paper.
I also love stationary!! Love sending cards/notes for every holiday! I did the hand written thank you's for our wedding too! At the beginning they were all very enthusiastic and well written, by the end I was wondering why I didn't just take the generic thank you for coming photo like everyone else! hahah
ReplyDeleteBut seriously adding that personal touch was important to me adds something special :)