Putting Pen to Paper: Can We Return to a Lost Art?

I’ve written about how tired I am of e-mail. It has its uses, but fails in many ways. Phone calls are great, when needed. Texting is fantastic for a lot of quick communication. I’ve been thinking, though, of doing more writing by hand starting with the end of this year.

No, no: I don’t just mean holiday cards. I mean letters. Not a lot. Just a few.

My friend Amanda is very, very good at this. She sends the best birthday cards and handwritten “thinking of you” notes I’ve ever received.

A little secret? I keep them all. I keep all the handwritten, mailed notes I get. I have a rather large drawer full of them. When I’m having a particularly crappy day, it is really nice to open that drawer and read the words of dear friends and family.

So why haven’t I returned the favor? I get hung up on the lack of awesome stationery and an available pen. (Pretty sure I can remedy that). I get hung up on the fact that my fingers are near a keyboard or a smartphone all of my waking hours.

I’m going to give it a whirl, though. I have two very special people to start writing to, and I’ll see where it goes from there.

Do you write by hand? Do you like it when you get something handwritten in the mail?