In one of the crazier, small world, no that didn’t just happen life events, I was reading this Reuters’ article on the power and importance of thank you notes in the business world and they quoted the expert Christina Cookman.
CHRISTINA COOKMAN!!!??! She was my bestest friend in the whole world from ages six to 12! She walked up to me on the first day of school, looked me in the eyes and said, “Do you want to be my friend?” Now, come on, she was my kind of girl. Hell, yes, I replied (in a six-year old version, I’m sure). I’m thrilled to see that we have cross paths again - this time in our firm belief in the power of letters! I’m scouring the internet trying to find an address to handwrite her a note but so far, no success. I will find her. I will write her. And, most importantly, I will thank her for walking up to me on day one and giving me the best gift anyone can give, her awesome friendship! What a pal! That is the best argument for thank you notes yet! ... Awesome update: Within an hour of writing this post and tweeting to the attention of the super cool Reuters' journalist Chris Taylor, both Chris and Cookie sent me her address! And 10 minutes later, I was stamping my letter to her. Booyah, baby! It's the perfect blend of old school and technology!!
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There are two things I find very striking about the beautiful opinion piece, The Gift of Shared Grief, published in yesterday’s New York Times: 1) It is one of the top trending stories and 2) I never cease to be amazed by the innate human desire to hold a thing belonging to someone we love and/or cared for after they pass.
The whole purpose of this website is to encourage people to write more letters. Letters function on so many levels. They are meditative in how they require you to stop and focus. They provide joy to both the sender and receiver. They are a part of you - you touched the letter physically and you touch the receiver emotionally. And it can be a keepsake. Recently, I learned some new details about a friend’s death 30 years ago. I immediately thought of the drawings she sent me in college and needed to find them. That then led me to want to see my mother’s handwriting. She died 15 years ago and two physical things make me feel so connected to her - her gold Rolex watch and her handwriting. The article in the Times touches on all of these points and clearly touched many readers as it rose up the top trending list. It’s a heartwarming reminder that we are all the same on some level. We all want connection. We all want to be loved. And we want to remember and be remembered. Letters accomplish all of that. Write!!! In somewhat odd, but very regal handwriting news, Meghan Markle hand wrote affirmative, empowering messages on bananas (yes, on yellow bananas not yellow pads) to be included in charitable donations to sex workers living on the streets of Bristol, England.
According to the Vanity Fair article, Markle and Prince Harry made an unscheduled stop at One25, a charity that supports women trapped in prostitution. When she saw the food items included in the donation bags, Markle came up with the idea to write sweet notes to the women on the bananas. Some of the affirmations were: “YOU ARE STRONG,” “YOU ARE LOVED,” and “YOU ARE BRAVE.” It's been previously reported that Markle is a huge handwriting fan. She even worked as a freelance calligrapher on the side when she started acting. Bananagrams may or may not take off but either way, knowing that we have a handwriting patron in the royal family is a wonderful thing! |
AboutStationäry is a combination of stationary (to be still) and stationery (paper). Archives
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