Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Importance of Being Thoughtful

I may have the absolute worst handwriting for a 26 year old woman on the face of the planet (which my lovely husband likes to remind me of quite often), but at least I write Thank You notes...the snail mail kind...the kind that I know people love to receive (myself included).

And being that I'm extremely aware of my pathetic penmanship, it's actually quite surprising that I'm not more insecure about it.  But maybe it's my inability to make things look pretty that inspired me to perfect the art of writing a personalized, meaningful and prompt Thank You note.  Since I have those three things going for me, I like to think the reader doesn't notice the fact that it looks like a 2nd grader wrote it (which now that I'm thinking about it, when Abby gets old enough to write I hope people can distinguish between her section of the note and mine...but now I'm getting too far ahead of myself).

The bottom line is this - I love writing notes!  Not just Thank You notes.  Congratulatory notes, Love notes (those are fun), Goodbye notes (which are so hard to write but evoke the most emotion and the most amazing memories)...any notes.  

When I was younger, I had multiple pen pals (and for those of you who have become overly consumed in the age of the internet, that meant that I actually wrote LONG notes to people all around the world that I barely knew...via snail mail!!!).  What a wild concept in this day and age.  Do people even have pen pals anymore?  Gosh, there was nothing like waiting for the mail to arrive every day...waiting to see which one of my friends might send me a note...and waiting to hear the stories they had to share.  It was so cool.  I had pen pals ranging from my cousins to my best friend to our Russian exchange student, Kostia (whose name I'm totally butchering right now).  

I even remember writing to celebrities thinking that they'd actually respond (I mean, Santa Clause responded when I wrote him notes at Christmas and he's practically a celebrity, right?).  

I think one of the best notes I wrote was the one I penned to Taylor Hanson (of Hanson...remember?  Mmmbop...of course you do).  Anyway, I wrote him a seven page "masterpiece" in 1997 on stationary covered in bears...and the reason I know these details is because the note is still sitting in my stationary box.  Why?  Well...I was SO devastatingly in love with Taylor that by the time I finished the note, I couldn't bear to send it off and never hear back from him (after having failed attempts with the likes of Boys II Men...but we don't have to go there).  The best part is that I ran across the note during our last move when Travis and I were both sorting through all our crap...and I shared it with him.  As I sat there reading my 13 year old note, I couldn't help but laugh at how obsessed I was...how horrible of a writer I was...and how I hoped that Travis wouldn't ask for a divorce after hearing how pathetic I was.  Maybe I should send Taylor the note now - give him something to laugh at (once again, here I am thinking a celebrity will actually read my note).

And maybe someday...if you're lucky...I'll post that note on 7x7xMommy...but not tonight...and not anytime soon.

The whole point here is that I want to encourage everyone to write more notes. They're so much more personal than email and they also require more time and effort (which automatically show how much you care).  Plus, with all of the amazingly awesome stationary out there, it's so much FUN!  

Here's my latest box...oh, and one more thing...when it comes to stationary, you must go to Ross or Marshall's or any other discount store because they have loads of options at half the price!  


Get writing, friends! 

3 comments:

  1. Thank you notes are a lost art. You however have not let that happen. I appreciate getting your notes and haven't noticed that your penmanship looks like that of a "2nd grader". Maybe that's because my writing is like chicken scratch. Keep up with the notes. Luv you aunt Lynn

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  2. Oh my gosh, I totally agree! I think writing thank you notes is so important! Someone out there took the time, spent the money and/or put the effort into buying me something, making me something, or doing something kind for me... the LEAST I can do it spend a few minutes to let them know how much I appreciate it. And a thank you email is NOT the same!

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  3. You are the best in Thank you note writing. I have a few of your notes sitting around the house at this very moment. Your notes put smiles on the faces of those who receive them :)
    Taylor Hanson wasn't the only celeb you planned on sending a letter to. I remember your wanting to write to Chris Webber(for those who may not know him, he was bball player, at the time, for the Golden State Warriors.)You were pretty sure that because he shared the same name as your basketball-playing brother, that he would probably answer your letter :) I think that was another letter never mailed.
    Keep your notes coming!

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