Todays Daily Post Pens and Pencils asks the following:
When was the last time you wrote something substantive — a letter, a story, a journal entry, etc. — by hand? Could you ever imagine returning to a pre-keyboard era?
Well, considering I was born and raised in the “pre-keyboard era” it’s safe to say that I will continue to keep the art of handwriting alive and well in my circle. I love pens and pencils!
Just this week I wrote a note of well wishes to a sick friend and good luck wishes to friends who are starting a new chapter in their lives. I would consider both of these notes substantive, because they had the personal touch of the written word …. my words.
As a matter of fact, I can’t return from the pre-keyboard era because I never really left. I love giving and receiving a written note. I don’t care if it’s a simple “Pick up milk” on a post-it or a loving reminder inside a card that someone out there in the world is thinking of me on a special occasion. Handwriting Rocks!
Let me toot my handwriting horn now. My handwriting truly rocks because I went to Catholic school where penmanship was far more important than anything else on the planet. You haven’t lived until you completed an entire copybook of the handwritten alphabet!
My children, ages 20 and 21, will never ever master this craft. There are chickens in barnyards across America with better writing skills! Although my daughter had a brief stint with penmanship, my son had less.
He has voiced his dislike for my hand written notes claiming he struggles to read cursive, while insisting I print. I refuse to resort to wall drawings on his behalf!
At work I still have the pleasure of using a sharpened wood pencil, along with a date book that has real paper pages. Don’t faint.
I use these old school tools to schedule the doctor’s surgeries and I love it! Sharpened pencils make me smile, erasers … well, they make me smile even wider. Trust me, when you’re dealing with the public erasers are a dream come true.
Honestly though the pen and pencil people of the world have to have some empathy for this keyboard era. What are they going to do save a text message from their lovers on their phones? Ugh … that is just depressing.
I guess if they don’t know any different they’re really not missing anything. Ok, now that’s even more depressing.
I am grateful to have the skills to write a note; the ability to 
appreciate a written note; and the sense to frame a note written by my husband on our first anniversary. Husband and writing are rarely used in the same sentence.
This little beauty has acted as a reminder over the past 24 years on more than one occasion and I cherish its existence. It has also acted as a life saving tool more than once as well … just saying.
Doing things “by hand” isn’t as dirty as it sounds. So take a moment today to write a note and as always … Enjoy the Ride!
Life With The Top Down 
Good post. A handwritten thank you note speaks volumes and is truly worth the effort.
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It sure is!
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I love to write and receive letters although sadly it’s a one way street these days. My handwriting has deteriorated over the past 3 years, so I only write a page or two instead of 10 or 20!
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My 88 year old mother said this year was her last year to write cards because her writing has gotten so bad, but then again she said that the year before too. Keep writing, no one is counting!
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Gosh, I remember those nuns with penmanship. You could get your knuckles smacked. Bet they don’t do that anymore.
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Hence the scribble some people try to pass off as writing I would say not. I was always good at penmanship, math not so much.
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Excellent post! Not only do I love pens and pencils, but beautiful paper of any sort; note cards and notebooks and journals. I love making grocery lists and even the quickly jotted ones are usually written in my Catholic School-girl perfect penmanship! And give me a calligraphy marker! Oh my! That’s the icing on the cake, lol!
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It really is a craft. I write my grocery list in perfect penmanship too! Glad I’m not alone…lol
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I agree — there is nothing like a letter — or a card with a hand-written note. After a thumb injury years ago, my handwriting is ummmm, illegible, but still I do write them. And sometimes I just come across a card or a letter from someone I’ve lost. I hug it, knowing they touched it too. It’s a good feeling.
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Coming across those treasures is the best!
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Kudos to you for keeping to the hand-written stuff! I am afraid it is heading to the lost art bin.
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It’s a sad thought.
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Handwritten notes are getting to be a lost art. I realize that the younger generations probably won’t even notice the loss, but I think it’s a shame. I also still keep a paper calendar of events. I tried to use an app on my phone but I kept missing things. I have to admit, though, that I haven’t written in cursive since high school. I developed a personal style for my printing and never went back (it was probably the design major in me).
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I’m always missing things on my phone calendar and my man hands do not help!
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I hand write a lot of things. Mostly in pencil. I don’t know why, but I have a thing for pencils and just love how the graphite moves across a page. Back in the day I actually won handwriting competitions. It was an artistic thing of beauty. Then in high school my Grandmother convinced me to take shorthand because, “you never know when it might come in handy”. I have to ask…do people even use shorthand anymore. Needless to say my penmanship suffered from these chicken scratches that were meant to be words. I can now barely read my own writing now. That doesn’t stop me though, I too “have the pleasure of using a sharpened wood pencil, along with a date book that has real paper pages” and I love it.
My husband use to hand write me poems and notes and I keep and treasure every one.
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Quite often, anything that winds up on the keyboard is started by hand. The thoughts seem to flow and express more fluidly through the pen.
Another thing I do by hand? Washing dishes. Now THAT’s clean! lol xoxoM
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Writing by hand? What is that? I can barely sign my own name anymore and decipher it!
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Why oh why, despite the best efforts of Sister Wanda Marie and my early years in Catholic school, did cursive fail to “take”? My long hand is sad and wobbly. Still, pens and pencils are awesome. Don’t even let me go past the writing implement section of Office Max. (To save text a message, take a screen shot).
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I hate typing but I hate to hand write even more. Nobody can read what I hand write either including myself sometimes.
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