Today is Friday – the end of the work week – the beginning of the weekend – and it’s also National Handwriting Day. Who would’ve thought that we’d be honoring this means of communication, but then why shouldn’t we? I’ve always enjoyed receiving a letter or greeting card that was written and signed in beautiful handwriting. I used to do a pretty good job of writing in cursive. It’s how I was taught from my early days of learning. Attention to detail – keeping the line straight without having a line to guide you – different pen points to highlight – fancy looking letters that were readable. As the youth of today would say, it’s a “generational” thing. I have grown tired of that idiom because it makes me feel old. So many of the things that we used to put value on, no longer exist because they’ve been replaced by technology.

Today, handwriting in itself has become somewhat obsolete with the entrance of the computer age. I must admit giving way to that practice myself. There are huge varieties of fonts in various sizes and boldness. What we used to painstakingly spend a great deal of time producing has now turned into an app for that.

When I was long distance letter writing to my future husband when he was in the service, I would display my affection for him through the handwritten word. He, on the other hand, preferred printing the words. As time went by, I would eventually give up cursive writing, but there was something romantic about the former. When I was directing student plays, I found it necessary to print my notes rather than using the formal style of writing. It took me longer to print, but the students could not read cursive, so I gave into their needs by printing my suggestions for them. I guess the art of handwriting is now related to the nostalgic things of our past. I never kept a journal until recent years. I wrote most of my entries in cursive. Now that I look back at them, I have a hard time deciphering what they say. Guess I’ll just have to put them in a file on my computer. I wonder what the future holds for ways of communicating.

Change can be seen as good for the most part, but some things never go away completely. I hope that taking time to write to someone in beautifully hand-crafted words never does.

THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR ANOTHER DAY!