No one is born with their future written in stone; it took me years to find my own path. Looking back I can see now what I couldn’t see then, that the tiniest inspiration, if you love it enough, can be the gateway to a future. For instance, don’t laugh, (and most of you probably already know) but I always got an A in handwriting. At the time, no one got very excited about that (although, when I was around fifteen, my dad did take something I wrote to work to show his co-workers, something the daughter will never forget ♥), but really, how much more insignificant could an “achievement” be? Would you ever imagine there could be a life in handwriting? Me, either.
But yes, it can happen. Which, by the way, means anything can happen! This is the top of my calendar page for March. Musica? Oui! It’s a celebration of good old-fashioned letter writing. I love my grandma’s old letters that all start with “Sue Darling;” my old boyfriend’s 
letters; all the letters from my best friend Diana when I left California to move to Martha’s Vineyard. Our letters flew back and forth and now they’re like little diaries. They never get old; their details capture and hold on to a moment in time like almost nothing else. Except for the photos, everything on that calendar page was either written or painted by hand. The old letter in the upper left was one written by a beau to Joe’s great, great grandmother in 1881. On the right, is the front, inside, and back of a card I wrote to my grandmother when I was eight. As you can see, I was so excited to get to the p.s., I almost forgot to sign my name first! I’ve always been a P.S. Person!
Goodbye cursive? Get outta here! They’ve been talking about taking cursive out of schools. I saw this newspaper in a gas station while traveling last fall and practically cried before I ran to get the camera! My sister says the school her eight-year-old twins go to is no longer teaching cursive! Luckily my little nephews are amazing artists; they want to know how to do cursive and Shelly teaches them.
I think learning cursive was the first connection between my brain, a pencil, and whatever artistic talent I had; moving the pencil just so to form letters, to make a little curl on an E, to bend the top of a T. I don’t know if it happened that way for other artists — but what if it was the same thing for some of the most talented artists, for example, like Monet, or DaVinci (who taught himself to write cursive backwards!), or John Singer Sargent? What if it was??? No pencil, no connection = just maybe, no art.
And for sure, two out of these three books could never have been written if it wasn’t for cursive. Not to mention the Declaration of Independence, which wouldn’t have been half so interesting or informative if it had been written perfectly, on a computer, all mistakes and cross-outs deleted.
I have nothing against a printed book, love love love them in fact, but
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
this kind of book makes me feel history more than any printed book could ever do. Rachel (we met as pen pals and now we are dear friends for twenty years; go say hello if you have time!) sent me this old diary she found for sale in an antiquarian bookstore in England where she lives; she knew it would be my cup of tea, and she was so right!
This diary was written by a twelve-year-old British girl named Alice. She writes about her lessons with “mademoiselle,” about her dog, about teatime and what she ate; and about how much she whistles, which is practically every night. She really loves to whistle! “Dec. 4, 1906 Nothing special today, whistled in the evening.” It’s a little treasure; she might have thought it was “nothing special” but it is to me. I wonder what she was like as a grown woman?
♥ ♥ ♥
I would love to have known Margaret Cavendish! And, just imagine, no this:
I have no doubt at all that Nancy Luce’s writings and little books were inspired by her simple everyday school life here on the island, learning to make her letters. Despite her illness and loneliness, she still managed, through her handwriting (and her heart), to become the most famous person on Martha’s Vineyard in the late 1800’s.
And for sure, this would look very different if it wasn’t handwritten; my favorite book I ever wrote; the diary of our adventure in England. Sure it could be typed, but I love all the mess in this diary, it’s real, with crossed out lines and misspellings and lots of exclamation points!!!! I tried to make this first page neat, within reason, I didn’t have a ruler, but inside it looks more like my other diaries:
This was part of my diary entry for January 19, 1978; the first time I broached the question of how “real” writing was done. Sometimes people tell me they don’t want to use their handwriting in their scrapbooks and on recipe cards because they think it’s so bad. Could it be any worse than this? Would it really matter? Wouldn’t a great, great, great grandchild love seeing any kind of handwriting at all, as long as it belonged to you?
I’ve been keeping a diary on and off since I was nine, and constantly since I was thirty. These are probably the most embarrassing items I own. They’re bare bones, pathetically truthful, “scream of consciousness;” running the gamut of emotional health from A to B and will all have to be burned one day. They know too much. I never thought about “writing” when I wrote them, which is too bad; I would have liked to see myself wax poetic! I left out lots of details and told things that no sane person would ever tell. Because I wasn’t thinking!!! This is the truth, there was no thinking going on!!!
I was a gut-spiller in my diaries, and yet, they are part of me and my life, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, I am married to them. I bought my House of Creativity inside those pages! Our Christmases are there. My kitty, Pooh, died there. I moved to Martha’s Vineyard inside those books, wrote my first cookbook and met Joe. And without cursive, all that important stuff would be lost!
And you know what else? Without cursive, here would be no more of these!!
So I’m declaring this day, March 10th, “I Love Cursive Day,” and in honor of the celebration I am giving away not one, but three, things that will exercise your cursivity and leave a little herstory for the folks in 3012, who are apparently going to need it.
First off, I’ll send the winner of our drawing a package of these How to Be Happy Notecards. So she can send a little note to someone she loves, and put it on paper to last forever. ♥
In addition, the package will contain a signed copy of my new Grandma, Tell Me Your Story book. I wish so much I had one of these when my Grandma was alive; there are lots of family memories lost forever. I would have loved to know more details of her childhood. I never did hear about her favorite dress. ♥
The book is lined, and filled with good questions for a Grandma to answer, the ones I would have liked to ask; “real” ones, such as “Did you ever leave school without permission?” And, “Did you like to dance; did your dances have names? Who taught you the steps?” (That’s where I would write that my first dance partner was our refrigerator door handle!) When finished, this book will be something a family will cherish forever. If the winner isn’t a Grandma, I’m sure she will know one or have one and it will make a wonderful gift!
♥ ♥ ♥
And last but not least, this. It’s my newest recipe keeper, and I’ll be signing this one too. It’s smaller than our three-ring-binder-recipe-keepers which means it would be a quicker project to put together; the letter stickers come with it so you can add a name on the cover; you just fill in the recipe pages with your favorite family recipes, gathered in one place, to save forever, perfect for a newly wed daughter or son.
To enter the drawing for all three items, you have to be actually on my website, which most of you are (some people have the blog emailed to them via subscription, which means there is no comment button; if that’s you, just go to www.162.240.10.175/~susanbs3/susanbranch/) and leave a comment by clicking the word “comment” at the bottom of this post. That’s all, and in a few days, charmingly talented “Vanna,” our in-house random number generator, will choose a winner. Join my quest to save the cursive! And have a wonderful weekend girlfriends!
X O X O X O
Susan, thank you for another wonderful start to this beautiful day! and if I happen to win the contest it will be a added bonus…… thank you for you words
At our local school here in Manchester, England we still put a lot of store in handwriting and encourage the children to actually write letters – not easy for a generation used to texts and emails! Just looking at your handwriting and art never fails to brighten up my day Sue. Thank you so much for all you do and share. You really make a positive difference to all our lives. Love Jane. P.S. Our Kitty – Dazzle – is an identical twin of Girl Kitty. My boys love looking at your photos of her and darling Jack.
Another wonderful blog to enjoy with my Saturday morning coffee. Thank you sooo much!!! I want to sit down and write a letter to each of my little Granddaughters. K
What a good idea! xoxo
Happy I Love Cursive Day, the blog was wonderful today. Thanks for the intimate insight, it brought tears to my eyes. XXXOOO in bunches
xoxo you too Annette!
Learning cursive was for me a decade-long venture. How I loved finding a new and better way to form a letter, and how happy I was to marry a Fehr and abandon my maiden name, which I could never sign to my liking! I have a wonderful flourish on my “F” which I love writing.
As an artist I definitely find satisfaction in writing beautifully and I hope that my children (one of whom is learning cursive at home) will find the same joy in making their words lovely – both spoken and written!
It is an art! I used to wonder!
I love your “keep cursive” message to all of us. When I was much younger, I once envied a co-worker’s handwriting so much that I kept some of her handwritten notes to copy so I could improve my own handwriting. (Reading this now, it sounds like I was trying to be a forger!)
In the sixth grade I sat next to a girl who loved handwriting too, we wrote exactly alike, big tall letters, in pencil, very very light. I’m sure the teacher loved it!
Hooray for Cursive Day! I feel the same way as you Miss Susan, how could cursive not be taught in school? CRAZY bad idea if you ask me. Jess will have cursive, whether it takes place in school or not…remember her and Sydney wanted to write their names in “cursive” when they met you in SLO earlier this year? You are a great inspiration!! We thank you!! Hope you come to California again for another book signing..hint hint. Happy Spring, (almost) L n J
I do remember. Such cute girls!! I’ll be there one day!
Save Cursive Day!!! I remember fondly all the handwritings of my relatives! All those who have now left this earth to live in my heart. Everytime I see my Mama’s handwriting it brings a flow of tears–her recipes–her “diaries” in her puzzle books–her gifts of books and notes in them–a treasure worth the world to me and her family!! March 10th—a most important day! Thank you Susan! xoxo♥
You have inspired me to start journaling again…something I haven’t done since my teens. I am sure my 3 daughters would enjoy reading them someday. I have always said I don’t have time but you have just given good reasons to make the time! I would love to have a journal from my Mother who passed away when I was 7…..what a treasure that would be. Thank you for the inspiration!
I think I am more disappointed than shocked that cursive writing is leaving school curriculums. I guess with the explosion of digital capabilities it soon won’t even be necessary to sign your name to a document. I’m having a hard time wrapping my brain around that concept!
Love your little essay. It brings back memories of wanting to make an essay so special and making an impression by putting “The End” at the bottom, just like the Looney Tunes Cartoons did.
I Love cursive. I Love handwriting in greeting cards and allowing my family and friends to see the love I place in each card. E-mail “electronic” greetings? nah!!
What a beautiful post to take in a brighty sunny morning!
Blessings,
E.
Southern CA.
The art of a snail mail letter is beginning to be a lost art too.
I actually think I remember that headline of the Rockford paper (as I am from No Illinois).
The Grandmother’s book is such a grand idea.
Right now my mother is recovery from a very serious heart surgery and she has 11 young grandchildren. One of the first things we did when she woke up was to put pictures of the grand children up on the window by her bed. So each move she has made (as right now she is in rehab) she has wanted the pictures up. These 11 mean the world to her and my father. I know that my parent’s 7 children mean so much to them as well. I will have to tell my siblings of your new book for their children.
Susan,
As a former teacher, I have mourned the loss of cursive handwriting especially that which you can read! I have a three year old grandson who I will teach to write, if per chance his school does not. Never underestimate the power of a former teacher!
I have so enjoined your blog today and especially your writings on your calendar.
Thank you.
I would never underestimate the power of a teacher!!! xoxo
Hi, I am still teaching cursive handwriting to Year3’s ( not sure what grade that is in the States, but here its 7-8 year olds). I still think its an important skill and I’m also going to be teaching it to my 3 year old grandson and 3 year old grand daughter.
Thank you for this post – I LOVE handwritten cards too, especially when they’re from my best friend. She has the most beautiful Spencerian handwriting! I keep all of her letters in a fabric-covered box and re-read them when feeling swamped with life. We both enjoy your art and treasure each bit of Susan Branch ephemera. Thank you!
This morning your page took me back quite a few years to a little school where the teacher said I had the most lovely handwriting. Now I can see the trouble that comes from not paying attention. My grands have awful writing BUT since I read this- G’ma is going to help them out. I have started writing memoirs of things but would love to win this treasure box. Thanks for affirming what I once took pride in so long ago.
:-)!
Good Morning! I love having a day to celebrate the hand-written word. Hip-Hip to cursive and letter writing! Thank you for another wonderful give-a-way, too!
Dear Susan, I find we are a lot alike when I read this post. I, too, have penpals that I write my letters to in longhand and most of them are in England. I started with 65 back twenty years ago, and have lost many through the years but I still have 15 I write to regularly. Five of them have been to visit me in Kansas.
I also have kept a diary off and on since I was 16 when my great grandpa gave me one for my birthday. I’ve kept one everyday since 1992 and I hope no one ever reads them, as I say whatever I feel at the time!
I can write mirror image or backward or upside down and you can read it! I’ve had a lot of fun writing entire letters mirror image like DaVinci did. It comes as easy as writing forward.
I just LOVE reading your blog, don’t change a thing. Sheila
Now you must be a handwriting genius, just like da Vinci!!
Hi Susan! I adore this post! I have always loved handwriting too! And I remember the first time I saw YOUR handwriting when I bought “From the Heart of the Home”. I spent hours trying to write recipe cards using your style of handwriting. I guess I am what you would call a handwriting nerd 🙂 xoxo Debbie
LOL!
The “Grandma Tell Me Your Story” would be perfect for Andrew who worked for several years with his great-grandfather in the family business before he died, but has not spent as much time with his great-grandmother. What a chance to complete the picture.
I have always loved the written word admire good hand writing
Love your writing and art work
Would love the book Grandma I am a GRAND AND SO PROUD OF IT
Took my grandaughter to England 2 weeks ago am putting together diary of pictures and words for her as a surprise for her birthday in May.
Thanks for the chance to win Love always
I just became a grandmother on October 25, 2011, so I would love to complete the Grandmother book for my granddaughter in cursive! When I was in elementary school we got grades for “pensmanship.” It was considered a very important subject and skill. Thanks for this post; I love your blog and especially your unwavering honesty! Drucye from Columbus, GA.
Thank you this lovely post. I grew up admiring my G-ma’s handwriting (she was schooled in Spencerian script) and my dear mother’s (who was taught using the Palmer method). Just yesterday, I was discussing penmanship and handwriting with my young adult son ~ we each took turns writing various lines in cursive! While reading your post I called three young sons over to my computer ~ hoping to encourage them to keep the art of cursive handwriting alive!
What lovely gifts you’re giving. The best, however, was the post itself. Thank you!
I think your right about handwriting and the writing of letters . It’s becoming a lost art. As one example, historians are saying we are losing so much of history during the current military conflicts because soldiers are emailing home instead of writing letters. Then much of it gets deleted because it seemed insignificant when in reality that is what makes up history. What a loss!
So true, what a loss! Soldiers letters!
I saw that about doing away with teaching ‘cursive writing’ in Schools and it broke my heart too as I LOVE writing and hand written things. I too keep journals and have for years. I love to just sit and write. It is the beginning of being an Artist I believe. If you can learn to write you can learn to draw. So here’s to March 10th, I love Cursive Writing day!
I agree! The world will not be the same without cursive and handwriting in general. What about signatures? Don’t we all need to have a signature in cursive? Even though mine has changed for the worse thanks to signing on those credit card swipe pads!
Another great blog….my favorite way to start the day. I was beginning to think I was the only person that loves getting a letter in the mail. Long live cursive. Thank you for being you Susan.
What a thoughtful blog post – loved it as usual almost as much as I love the handwritten word. Thanks for the chance to win the goodies!
Good Morning! I, like you, did like to write cursive when I was in school. I was once fairly confident that my letters were nice and neat, but over these many years my cursive has gotten a bit sloppy and has changed it’s appearance. Your blog is one of my favorites I check in regularly to see what you have to show us. Thanks!
I LOVED your Blog today Sue, and seeing how handwriting has helped shape who you are. I remember learning cursive in the 4th Grade, and how we had to practice our writing on straight lines over and over….
Good for you, for keeping diaries like you have…they will be treasured someday for sure! I wish I had kept up journaling like you have done. Life got busy, and I got out of the habit. And the postcard to your Grandma was the cutest thing! I admire how you have kept those special things that played such a big part of your life. I am definitely getting that Grandma’s Story book, and start filling it out for my Grand kids! Are you going to put your trip to England into a book as well? That would be awesome!! So many fun things to read about today….thank you for the inspiration to all of us!! xo
Good morning from Seattle, Susan! As a recently retired primary grades teacher, I heartily agree with you about the joy of cursive writing! I love your March calendar page – in fact, it’s in my kitchen right now! Changing the font style just isn’t the same as the personality of real handwriting….thanks for being a source of inspiration yet again!
I struggled to learn cursive in third grade. I’d erase so much I’d ripped the paper and the girls in class would sniff their noses at me and declare I wrote like a boy.
In high school I decided it would be too embarrassing to pass notes to a boy I liked with my awful handwriting, so I begged my mom to buy me a Schaeffer pen set with the little nibs and colorful ink cartrides and I practiced and practiced till I got it right.
I make scrapbooks for my family now, and my beautiful cursive is always a quiet source of pride to me. Susan, your penmanship is just a joy to behold! Loved this blog article. My kindergartener is learning cursive in her private school…hooray!
The worst! To be told you write like a boy! I love your perseverance!!
It seems to me a little of our American treasures are disappearing each day. Do you remember the lined paper the teacher handed out to practice our handwriting on? I remember sitting there trying to make each letter hit those lines and be perfect! When your daffodils are in bloom in town, can you take some pictures for us? Have a delightful day!!
I’ll do it!
You cracked me up when you said this, “These are probably the most embarrassing items I own. They’re bare bones, pathetically truthful, “scream of consciousness;” running the gamut of emotional health from A to B and will all have to be burned one day. They know too much.”
Amen. I have a huge file of those. They aren’t as pretty or as organized as yours, but they’ve been a good shoulder to cry on and a great thought-sorter.
PS. I won the handwriting contest in junior high, two years running. 😉
I think I see a thumbs up in your little photo; I’m sending one right back to you!
I teach 4th grade and love teaching cursive! Our school does still have cursive workbooks, but all the state required testing does limit the amount that we get to spend on cursive each week. But I definitely believe that 4th grade is one of the last chances the kids have to learn and practice cursive in a school setting…you know middle school will require them to type their papers! Great blog today…Happy “I Love Cursive Day” to you!
Thank you!
Hi Susan,
Cursive is life to me! I also love to write lovely to look at letters. My fifth grade teacher told my parents that in handwriting, I didn’t write each letter, that I drew them. That was back when handwriting was part of the curriculum. When in “junior high” (I can never get used to middle school!) I taught myself to write backwards…..fluently (sorry Mr. Sanders but your science lectures never captured my imagination). My own children were taught basic printing in grammar school, but by middle school, handwriting became passe’. What a shame.
I applaud I Love Cursive Day. I hope it goes viral.
Have a beautiful day.
xoxo Pam
Happy I Love Cursive Day!! Susan, once again you’ve struck up conversation on a subject near and dear to my heart(Get ready…cause I am Passionate on this subject!). 1st I must tell you & all the girlfriends that I did not learn cursive in elementary school because I left SC before it was taught here and arrived in Germany where they had already learned the basic strokes. To make matters worse I was out of school for months with double pneumonia while the rest of the class was practicing combining letters to write words etc. So for most of my school years I wrote my own invented version of a manuscript-cursive combo. In college I even took notes in manuscript because that was so much faster for me, BUT in 1978 I found out I was moving from teaching middle school math to teach second grade where, after Christmas break, I would have to teach cursive!!! So first I had to get myself a practice book and teach myself. Bragging now, but I can flat out teach the Zaner-Bloser handwriting style cause I had to teach myself first! That’s not what I do now, but if anyone needs some freelance instruction… After the last few years of no handwriting instruction our local school realized it was needed and slowly has reintroduced it in third grade. For one thing a lot of the brain research of early learning has shown proper handwriting contributes so much to other learning, especially in reading…the left-to-right, top-to-bottom flow from eye to hand helps develop those much used brain synapses. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, we should all demand proper handwriting instruction for our children & grandchildren!! AND if your child starts writing at home please BE SURE they form their letters from top-to-bottom & left-to-right. Today I work with children who have had problems learning to read and it is overwhelming the number of these students who “draw” their letters in all kinds of ways but almost all start at the right and bottom which, theorists believe and my experience supports, has interferred with the tracking of print by their eyes when they read and has added to their reading problems. Whoops, I told you I could go on and on!!! Happy I Love Cursive Day!Love, SusanL XO
Great advice!
Loved your “treatise” on cursive, SusanL—very informative—I’m utterly convinced! (As if I weren’t already…..) Thank you for your dedication to cursive, teaching it and using it—-Happy I Love Cursive Day to you too! 🙂
Another great post, Susan! I saw something on Pinterest the other day, and it really touched my heart, “E-mail is fine, but parcels and post are better.” I couldn’t agree more. Nowadays, we only seem to get bills, catalogs and advertisement in the mail. There is nothing I love more than seeing a handwritten envelope with my name on it… What is more exciting than getting a box from a friend? “I love cursive day” should be an international holiday! Have a great weekend.
Hello Marcia,
I have been trying to get an invitation to PinInterest and was wondering if you could invite me to join. I love the whole idea of putting your favorite pictures in one place. Plus when you type “Susan Branch” in the search box, what a ton wonderful sights to see! Hope to hear from you.
It would be my pleasure to invite you. What is your e-mail address?
Thank you so much Marcia! My email address is [email protected].
Marie, I just sent you the invite. I hope you enjoy Pinterest as much as I do.
Hi Marcia,
I got your invite and have joined Pininterest! Thank you so much!
Marie
I’ve always loved cursive and have never had great penmanship. My grandmother Ivah had beautiful penmanship. I saved the high school graduation card she gave me along with an embroidered hankie. Thanks for sharing your stories with your readers.
When I heard schools wanted to discontinue teaching cursive I was dumbfounded. What?!? This just can’t be, I told myself. It must be a mistake and surely nobody would really and truly consider this. But I was wrong and I see it slipping away every day. I’m journaling like crazy so I can leave behind samples of “cursive.” I adored your post today and what a lovely give away.
Last year I took a calligraphy class (Oh, so fun!) and the teacher was mourning the loss of cursive in schools too. She said when she taught art, handwriting then pencil sketches were the best place to start because the kids were already familiar with the tools. Maybe there will be enrichment classes on writing for kids and adults and cursive and other forms of penmanship will be “art” in the future.
Happy I Love Cursive Day! Keep those cards and letters moving along …
Thank you for your wonderful blog! I love all the hand written notes and quotes. My 92 year old mother passed away in February of last year, but in the last years of her life, my 9 brothers and sisters and I talked with her in length about what her life was like and recorded it in a book much like the one you are giving away. We read it often and laugh and cry together over some of her stories. I would love to have your book to leave to my children and grandchildren, as I know what a gift that will be!
My husband and I have had many discussions of late about cursive writing and the fact that many schools no longer teach it. How horrible! I don’t have children, but if I did, I would make sure they learned how to write in cursive. I’m not a fan of my own handwriting – after years of taking fast notes in the dark while working on plays, it’s definitely the worse for the wear. But it is mine. And it shows my personality – my individual stamp – in a way that a computer never will. That’s why I love seeing others’ handwriting. It shows so much about the person.
I treasure my grandmother’s letters to me and the letters she exchanged with her adored little sister, Rhoda, who tragically died at the age of 15 during the influenza epidemic in 1918. The writing tells me so much about Rhoda, an aunt I never got the chance to meet.
xo
Claudia
You’re right. Handwritten “anything” is so special. I have recipes passed down from my mother from “her” mom and sister and they are so worn and brown that I am seriously thinking of framing two of them and hanging them in my kitchen. I love hand written notes because they are more personal.
I think it’s great you saved your diaries. I had a few while growing up but for some unknown reason .. even to me … I threw them away! Wish I had them now.
Thanks so much for this post. Each day you write starts my day off with a good start. 🙂
A letter received written in the beautiful cursive style of friends and relatives is such a happy day, wonder if I will receive one today :-). Here is to I Love Cursive Day! I, too, have saved cards with some lovely cursive, best friend, a cousin, a teacher and yours. Thanks for a fun blog today hoping it will be taught in school forever.
This brings to mind memories of my fifth grade writing teacher Mrs. Harshbarger. She was a stickler for both feet on floor, sit up straight, paper at the precise angle and holding the pencil correctly. She also had beautiful handwriting and was so kind and ladylike. Even though we kids may have acted like we thought she went a little overboard we all learned good penmanship and I actually loved her class. Many of my classmates still have beautiful handwriting today!
Susan, once again your post inspires me more than you could know. I am entering into a different phase in my life and trying to “find my purpose.” ha ha! Thank you for another beautiful post. You are awesome for sharing!!
I cannot imagine a world without cursive. 🙁 In honour of Cursive Day~ I will send out some letters. Splendid idea to have this day, Susan!
I thought of you yesterday while visiting my local bookstore. I wanted a new decorating magazine so badly. But as you mentioned they are becoming “heirlooms” as there are nearly non offered anymore. If it were not for the few British ones offered, I don’t know what I would do. It’s a new world, I am afraid.
Loved this blog~it’s quaint and charming … O’ and my most favorite part, is the paintbrush you painted at the end, with the pink heart !
Good morning, Sue Darling~
I’m not sure I can get my response out through my tears but here goes…
I absolutely agree with you 100% ~ Cursive needs to be saved and nurtured!
I wish I had kept more of my children’s writing but I do have some of it and it’s priceless! I have a note that my now 26 year old daughter wrote when she was nervous about going from elementary school to the middle school. She was considering running away to avoid it all and she left a PS to one of her brothers to keep her stuffed animals safe and well-cared for.
I have saved personal notes and cards from my husband and my girlfriends for years and have them everywhere around my house ~ in cubbies in my desk, in drawers, in journals, in beautiful cloth-covered memento boxes, even in cookbooks! I love when I come across one and it brings to mind the author and my love for them!
My most precious piece of cursive, I think, is the inside of a very old, very small book (it fits in the palm of my hand) that my great-grandmother, (whose name was Susan, btw) kept in her apron pocket and referred to each and every day. It’s titled “Daily Comfort in Threefold Links” and has a copyright of 1898. The little book is covered in a delicate red, embossed cloth material. The title page is decorated with pen and ink drawings of a fluttering butterfly and the words: A Precept, a Promise and a Prayer for every day in the year. The pages are yellowing and many are stained with what I imagine to be the daily chores of my great-grandmother’s fingers. Inside the back cover, in ink and beautiful handwriting, is her signature and her address.
I keep this on my night stand and whenever I touch it, I feel such a powerful connection that carries me back through the generations. Great-grandma Susan died when I was just a year old but I have a photograph of me sitting on her lap as an infant, with my mom and grandma standing behind us…4 generations of women.
I so want to pass this connection along to my daughter, Allison and to my sweet Isabella!
I’ve often thought that I should probably burn my journals sometime before I die, too….but how and when do you figure THAT out!?
Thank you, Sue, for such a moving tribute this morning! So glad we’re able to share the same path for a while…
xoxoxDebbie
I love the sound of your great-grandmother’s book. Just lovely. Daily comfort!
Oh, yes! Please!!
I love journals and writing and pens and all of it. I too lament the loss of cursive in schools. I’m actually teaching myself copperplate right now from Eleanor Winters book and it’s so relaxing and therapeutic. You really have to write each letter using multiple strokes but it’s so lovely. We have lost something by not giving and receiving handwritten letters anymore.
Susan, you are such a blessing! God keep you and your lil’ family in his ever-loving hands. I treasure your blog, it is pure bliss & nudges personal inspiration. I too love the handwritten word, it is a treasure we must not lose! You are a peach to give us goodies.
I always had terrible handwriting. I am a great printer though! As a former teacher, the idea is that only manuscript printing will be needed for filling out forms all else will be done on computer! I did love trying cursive as we were able to use “ink”, not a pencil! Semed fun to me and I tried really hard but I was never great. One of my sadnesses.
Covina, CA
Ohhh, that’s OK, you made up for it by giving the world to children!
I am thankful my kids were still being taught cursive when they were in school. I am with you about letter writing. I recently wrote in a letter to a friend that I was on a personal mission to bring back letter writing because I consider it as becoming a lost art and that after a certain period of time letters become historical documents. It saddens me to think of all the information being lost even in families because we send e-mails and after a period of time delete them because they aren’t as personal, whereas a letter we might hang on to because a person wrote it in their own handwriting. I am so glad that you have addressed this issue of handwriting so maybe we can all work together to bring it back. Probably down the road the schools will discover that there is a connection between creativity and cursive handwriting, kind of like they discovered that taking phonics out of learning was not a good thing. Which by the way was one of my favorite subjects when I was in school. Thanks for such a great post today.
I read the awful news a couple of months ago (cursive not being taught in some schools anymore), and thought “Oh Nooooo!!”. I just love old fashioned letter writing, and this summer I’ll be keeping a hand written and illustrated travel diary as a friend and I embark on an extended cross-county road trip.
Please do toss my name in the hat for your generous giveaway, and I’ll keep fingers and toes crossed!
Thanks as always for a wonderful post. Your blog is such a delight, and always brings a smile. 🙂
♥ Carolee
I’ve always wondered about your handwriting; it’s not only beautiful, but to me, the most amazing thing is that you’re not slanting up or down or wherever! SO NEAT
A gift. I was just praying a day or two ago that everybody would be able to know and “run with” their God-given talents, so they could be where they’re supposed to be, and be happy and be useful to others. Ahhhh.
What a nice prayer!
Oh Susan,What a thoughtful gift!(I really hope it’s me)I love the “Grandma Remembers”books,I have made one for two of my grandones and now I have a new one so I really need a book.I to am a writer of things and a card sender(I have two boxes of cards I keep under my bed)I love to get letters and cards,it means so much that someone took the time to select a card(even if comes from under the bed) or a sheet of paper and write a thought in their own handwriting.Hope spring is as lovely where you are as it is in Mayberry.
You live in Mayberry? Do you know Aunt Bee?
I can hear the whistling at the beginning of the show! 🙂
this is great, love the part about having to burn the diaries one day. Thanks!
Holiday, FL
It is such a shame that the importance of handwritting is being kicked to the side. My kids school teaches the kids very little cursive but atleast they have not gotten rid of it all together.
I have marked today as “I Love Cursive Day” on my calendar! Right along with Great Aunty Barb and Aunty Sue’s birthdays! 🙂
It’s too late for me to get it on the 2013 calendars, they’re at the printer right now, but I will start putting it on for the 2014!
That will be fabulous!
I emailed some family and friends and told them to mark it on theirs as well. I also told them they should write a handwritten letter to a loved one to celebrate. Maybe I will get lucky and they will all write me! 🙂
Then I printed out cursive practice pages for my kids! LOL! Can you see my ocd coming out? 🙂
Better than that! Inspiration!
Great idea, Sara! I’m going to do the same!
Happy I Love Cursive Day from the windy plains of Northeastern Colorado! I loved reading your blog today. I too had penpals when I was younger. One from Japan,Ireland, and another in Canada. It was a fun way to learn about other places and people! I can’t imagine typing letters to them and feeling the same uniqueness! Thank you for your wonderful stories!
I started my diary when i was fourteen years old and we were leaving Israel I wrote in Hebrew as we sailed across the ocean towards America and it was a way of communicating with myself my thoughts on paper. Now when I read it it’s emotional to me and brings back all the memories of coming to America all our hopes excitement and the unknown I have written since then After a movie, reading a book or when I want to examine my own feelings it’s great thanks for writing about it Nina
How wonderful that you have it!!! What an experience!
I still sit down the day after a birthday, Christmas or any other time that I am fortunate enough to receive a gift and hand write a thank you note. I always add little dots and ticks over my letters to individualize it and make the note even more personal. It’s a small gift I can give back. I love your creativitiy, keep it up.
Laurel
It’s the little things!
My third-grade teacher, Mrs. Bishop, had perfect “Palmer Penmanship” handwriting. Sadly, my own handwriting is a combination of printing and cursive, because my hands get tired very quickly when I write in cursive. Thanks for the “look back!”
I love how everyone is remembering their teachers! Isn’t that wonderful!
What a wonderfully charming post!
I love cursive writing….as a 4th grader, my teacher asked if I would write our daily cursive lessons on the board each day (what an honor!) I still get compliments on my writing, which I usually brush off and reply “It’s “Mom” writing..!”
I am excited to enter your drawing as I am a relatively new Grandma to 3 very small children….thanks for your wonderful blog, I am enjoying it immensely !
~
Dear Susan,
What a lovely post! It made me pull out the few letters I’ve kept and re-read each of them. Brought a smile to my face. One from my grandma was written on November 15, 1983, and she ended it with “Looking forward to Thanksgiving. Let me know if there is anything I can bring other than the ham. Love you, Grandma” I miss her so much, but she lives on in my heart. You’ve encouraged me to write more notes inside the cards I make and send to friends and family. Thank you for today’s post, LOVE IT! ♥ Marie
One of my biggest regrets in life is that I didn’t keep the letters that my Mom wrote to me during the two years that I sailed on a ship around the world. *sigh*
I have recently made the resolution to start writing letters again to my sister, who writes the most amazing letters of anyone that I’ve ever met!
Thank you for this post Susan.
Your heart is as Lovey as your cursive!
I need an icon that blows kisses!!!
Susan, you’ve done it again! What a beautiful post.
I have always been a fan of cursive, especially italic. I made sure all my children learned italic and while they don’t all still use it, I know they might just return to it someday. The handwritten note is so important and can really make someones day. I used to send two notes a day and have gotten away from that. I plan on getting back on track thanks to your post!
I did not know you were born in Long Beach! I was born in an old maternity hospital in Long Beach in 1955 and lived with my grandparents in Compton till my mother remarried in 1960. My aunt and uncle lived in Long Beach and I spent a great deal of time with them. My uncle was a Long Beach firefighter and my cousins went to Milliken High School. Memories! Signal Hill in Long Beach holds a lot of history for me. Now, there you are on your island on the east coast and me on my island on the west coast! Who would have thunk? 🙂
I’m so glad I “know” you! Have a fabulous weekend!
Kathy
Park Avenue, the street we lived on, was at the bottom of Signal Hill. My first school was Minnie Gant.
I know that school! I was always intrigued by the oil wells on the hill. I remember the giant “horses” that pumped the oil and thinking it was all just magical. My grandfather started Willis Oil Tool on Signal Hill and actually invented a drill bit, along with Howard Hughes, that revolutionized oil drilling. I never knew him or my biological father, but would love to have met my grandfather and hear his stories. He had to have amazing stories! It’s a very small world, indeed!
Yes it is!
Susan.
So agree with you about cursive, it’s a lost art unfortunately ………….but, not in my world.
I, too, have scads of journals, only to be shocked & surprised at myself when I re read them:)
What a treasure it would be to receive the 3 things you are giving away:) Loved the cards!
Blessings, JmF
Good Morning Susan! I’ve been catching up on your blog today (a very busy week!) and enjoying the sounds of spring. I love the bird clips and think I’ll play them for my class this week. I teach kindergarten and we are looking for signs of spring here in the Hudson Valley in New York state. Teaching handwriting is a very big part of my job as a kindergarten teacher. We spend the entire year helping little hands use crayons, pencils, paint brushes, … I love my job. I never know what the children will grow up to do in their lives, but I do know that what I teach them is important.
It sure is! Everything I learned about painting, honestly, I never took any lessons, I learned in kindergarten! Thank you for being a teacher!
Oh, what a great idea! I love cursive day!!! Perfect! Thanks again for another great story!
Thank you Susan for another delightful blog! Handwritten letters, journals, etc. have been on my mind recently ~ I have been thinking of how to inspire my nieces and nephews to stay in contact the old fashion way! My sweet Mother passed away two weeks ago and left her life history in journals for us to treasure. If I’m the lucky winner ~ will share your treasures in cursive! Blesssings from Cathy in Orofino, ID
Hi Sue,
I adore your books and I will pass this post to one of my good friends in Portland as I moved to Barstow for work. Noelle and I keep in touch through handmade letters; we both enjoy crafting. I like to take discarded books & magazines to repurpose them into stationery. I greatly enjoy sewing on paper too! Sometimes our letters are dull (when I’m at the laundry) but they are always a joy to make and to receive! I really appreciate this post!
Sincerely, Julie
Oh Susan! What is happening? Where are all our beautiful traditions going? Going to the stationery store and picking out beautiful paper so we can lovingly contact someone who means something to us. And how about reading a good book and passing it to your dearest friend. I like the computer as much as anyone…..especially when it comes to you contacting all of us out here who love you. But it is so heart warming to go to the mailbox and take out a piece of snail mail from someone special. I have letters my Grandfather mailed to Ireland from the USA when he came to our great country to get a job and get established before my Grandmother and Dad arrived. Such stories of having to live a life without his family near by. These are things I would never have known without the “Cursive” written word. I am so blessed to have them.
What a wonderful concept, “I Love Cursive Day.” I’ll celebrate with you.
As I’ve come to anticipate – another lovely story of appreciation illustrated delightfully from you. Thank you so much Susan, what a blessing you have to brighten others lives with these regular messages. I too love your script, I would love to be able to learn to do similar. I too was complimented on my ‘lettering’ while growing up, I never developed a beautiful cursive writing style but was told I had a natural Architectural lettering. Your story reminded me of this. (I didn’t become an architect, but I did marry one).
Close enough. xoxo
What a wonderful post on cursive…how sad to think that they may remove it from schools!!!
I’m very sentimental and some of my treasures are things that were written by my Dear Gram, Mom and Dad. I even have recipe cards written by them hanging above my stove ♥
I remember in the late 1950’s when I was in high school, some of my teachers required that our papers and essays be typed or printed clearly (to save their eyesight!) Since I was a terrible typist, I chose the latter and learned to print so clearly that everyone said that my handwriting looked like it came off a typewriter! Now my normal handwriting is a mixture of cursive and printing that is uniquely my own. I love how everyone’s handwriting reflects their own personalities and how no two are quite the same!
I’m so glad you came out of the closet with your passion for cursive. I thought I was alone in my love for doodle art. I used to love to write and draw and play with letters since I can’t remember when. I would be in school, writing and drawing my name upside down and backwards, in circles, fat and skinny (on “peachy” folders, remember those?) until they were totally covered in pencil and ink. I still have the ones that I thought could some day be put in the Louvre. And I’m proud to say I still doodle and play with cursive, like when I talk on the phone I write the information and then doodle and create art from that to the point sometimes it’s hard to read the information I need
Handwriting! Catholic School – third grade – Palmer Method – ink pens – strict Nuns – left-handed –
Blurred and smeared writing – embarrassing conflict between Father and Sister Loretta in classroom regarding changing from Left to Right — I hated penmanship class!
I’m so glad I didn’t have a mean teacher!
PS-I’m sure that Joe Scripto or whoever invented the Ballpoint pen was a refugee from a Catholic Penmanship class ….the worst exercise was the one where you moved your arm and hand –not your fingers –to
make close vertical lines between the two horizontal lines that were provided on the exercise paper — using a wet ink pen the underside of
my left hand was always blue – and the exercise paper? shish !
Then where I put my ink stained hand after was also blue –so ya kinda have to see it from Sister Loreta’s point too .. She had a blue spreader in her class ….
My dad, spreading blue. Ohh, awful, laughing, but awful.
I can SO relate to this—I’m left-handed too. Thank goodness I attended a school where they were more interested in WHAT I wrote, rather than which hand I used to do it. My mother was forced to switch from left to right by her grandmother, and of course we know now how damaging that can be. Hope you got over your hatred of penmanship class, Jack!
Love this! I’ve kept a diary since I was 12. I never read through them- just finish one and start another. I should group them together like you have. They’re stuffed in boxes and drawers….I won’t burn them though. I’ll let someone have them when I’m gone. I’ve also had the habit of writing in a pocket date book what I’ve done each day…I have date books going til I was 14. I have two little diaries from the early 1900’s plus an autograph book from the late 1800’s. I like to imagine what these women were like. The handwriting is beautiful!
Patricia, you reminded me of how I used to write EVERYTHING on my wall calendar. I have prenatal appts, first words spoken, chickenpox eruptions, band and choir concerts, I could go on. I’ve saved the calendars, they are my diary of my kids’ childhoods. Great to reread!
I enjoy all your work! I wish I practised drawing every day.
Yes….SAVE Cursive!!!! I just love how you are comfortable being YOU!! Not ashamed to let the world know that some things are worth saving. I admire you for many things and one is that you help continue “arts” that are slowly disappearing.
My “sweet” daddy wrote personal letters to me in cursive handwriting while I was in college. How I treasure those letters. He and my mom were married 62 years before his passing. Theirs was a true love story! While they dated in the late 30’s..early 40’s he penned many letters to my mother. I remember sneaking in the cedar chest and reading those letters as a teenager. I giggled and thought they were so funny. The truth is they are absolutely beautiful. They are true love letters!! Oh what we are missing today!! When my dad died I asked my mom if I could possibly have those one day. Several weeks later my mom came to visit. When I opened the front door she stood there with a wooden music box my dad gave her as a gift when there were dating. It was filled with those beautiful handwritten cursive letters. What a treasure I shall cherish forever!! His love lives on.
Yes it does, how wonderful Janie!!
Oh,Susan! I feel the same way you do!!! I feel my daughters are overrun with cell phones and ipods and are missing out on human contact! I have taught them to hand write thank you notes…. at least we still have that.
Save cursive!!!!
Tell them to keep a diary so that when they’re grown up they can have a whole book, just about them, and see what kind of girls they were. That always got my imagination when I was young.
Sue Darling ~
Happy I Love Cursive Day! How I wish I had saved all of my grandparents’ letters. My Grandfather had the most beautiful handwriting. He was born in 1891 and was taught to write in a very ornate manner. How lovely it was. And how sad that we have lost that among all of the computers, iPads, iPhones, etc. So much for progress. But let all of us put pen to paper and carry on with cursive! Write on good women!
~ Christina from Toluca Lake, California ♥
So wonderful being in the company of other write-minded souls! You inspire us once again, Susan. My fourth-grade teacher (56 yrs ago-Yikes!!) dangled this carrot before us: those who wrote cursive really well would be allowed to have real ink in their ink-wells and use a dip pen. I was crushed not to be chosen and worked very hard to improve. By May, she relented and I joined the other good writers. It created a lifelong love of writing, and a continued interest in fountain & dip pens and beautiful ink (Thank you Goulet Pen company for your committment to this art!). I now even use a fountain pen and ink in my art journal, adding watercolors afterward (um, after a prelim pencil sketch, I admit!). So thank you for Cursive Day, and for showing us the first (of many?) pages of your travel journal – it’s beautiful!
Susan, thanks for the memories! I’m happy to celebrate “I Love Cursive Day” with you — all those years of Palmer Method shouldn’t be in vain!
How can handwriting not be taught in school? Even if all correspondence is by email, you still have to sign your name. Crazy! When I was a child, Mom had us write thank you notes for any gift we received. I remember when mail arrived from my grandparents, there was always a note for me from my Grampy with Xs and Os at the end. He made all the Os into little critters. I wish I still had those notes.
Thank you for your inspiration of joy each day! You are so talented! Our sons and daughter-in-laws are making us grandparents over the next few weeks. We are excited for this new celebration of family. I wish my mom could have filled out a Grandmother’s book before she died. She was the best mom ever – I will do my best as a grandma to make her proud. Have a wonderful weekend – I am taking the new mothers to be for Pedis and Manis! Teresa from Bend, Oregon
You’ve inspired me to consider writing a journal again! What a delightful post 🙂 I used to keep journals, but, as you said, I told them TOO MUCH! And must remember to burn them before they are found. Thanks for your constant inspiration and lovely glimpses into your heart and home.
My exact feelings on this topic as well. I read in our local paper the same info. and just couldn’t believe such an idea! I can’t imagine life without cursive writing. It’s like a finger print, everyone’s is unique.
I hope you will never stop blogging! I know that’s selfish of me but I so look forward to each new blog you post. You remind me of my very best friend ever. She died 5 years ago of cancer. I miss her terribly, can’t express the hole left in so many of ours lives. You bring such joy…thank you. If Vanna never pulls my name it makes no difference to me, I receive so much from you already. Hope you have a great day!!:)
So sweet Lisa! xoxo
Susan your artistry with a pen is amazing! My daughter, who teaches 2nd and taught 3rd grade, confirms that cursive has been displaced in grade school! For same reason, that my handwriting continues to deteriorate, more use of computers and texting! Kinda sad!
The dermatologist that I go to is in the St Mary’s Medical building now attached to the hospital! Love to sit and look out the windows at the surrounding neighborhood with the small apartment houses and cottages that were built after the earthquake, during WWII, and in the 1950’s! Now I have another attachment to that area!
I can see how cursive played a roll in your handwriting. It’s so very artistic and beautiful. It’s really hard to believe that they will stop teaching that in schools. I homeschool my kids, so it won’t stop me. LOL!
Your special giveaway sounds lovely! Thanks for the opportunity to win.
Good, your kids are lucky!
Hi Susan! I’m with you on your save cursive campaign — maybe we should organize a march with banners and signs ;)?
Love the jourals — what treasures! I especially love the one belonging to the little whistler — how funny and sweet.
I’m the world’s worst journal keeper — which is one reason I started my blog a few years ago. For some reason, it’s easier for me to keep up with than writing in an actual journal — go figure?
Anyhoo, thanks so much for another giveaway opportunity, and write on ;)!
Blessings,
G
Happy I Love Cursive Day to you Sue and Girlfriends. Great fun reading your letter (we share the same birth year) and hearing of your seat mate in 6th grade … really took me back. I think I sat next to her too … lol … except I went to school in a Seattle suburb and you in CA. We wrote all our assignments in class with a #3 pencil so light our teacher confiscated them! She said we were endangering her eyesight … she later quit teaching during the winter to become a “Stewardess” for Alaska Airlines! Yikes.
Sad to hear that cursive is no longer taught in school. I used to enjoy doing Calligraphy but my “fat fingers” don’t work like they used to…lol Everyone have a wonderful weekend.
Jackie
I sometimes want to cry when I see the way some young people hold a pencil/pen,
and the writing is so big. I remember the practice we used to do, all those loops and up and downs, all with the wrist.
Your gifts look so lovely; here’s hoping you’ll draw my name.
Wonderful blog today! I agree 100% with you about the lack of cursive in schools. I’m rather shocked by my 10 year old granddaughter’s “handwriting”. They don’t even seem to teach kids the proper way to hold a pencil these days.
I love that you saved so many things. I wish I had, but through your photos I get to relive my childhood. I also had the Girl Scout Pen Pal badge and that little photo you posted brought back so many lovely memories for me. Thanks, Susan.
By way of Julia Cameron: I have been filling the well of inspiration these past three months or so reading, reading, reading – time to start writing again. I feel the pull towards pen, paper, and early morning journaling. The muse has returned from her vacation! Hoorah! The creative spirit whispering in my ear is Mnemosyne, goddess of memory and mother of all the other muses.. With – of course – a little push from Willard and SBranch Blog.
Marcia
Never stop doing what you do ! I fear that this day and age writing with pen and paper will soon be a thing of the past as the computer takes over more and more in schools ! I hope there are people like you that keep writing a live with in our family’s and friends. I myself keep a writen journal and love to hand write for myself nothing fancy mind you but to let your words flow from your fingertips through the pen or pencil on to paper is very theraputic ! Wonderful post . Have a great day !
I loved your blog today, dedicated to the love of cursive. Thank you for the time you take to share your appreciation of life’s good things. That picture of all of your journals lined up looked like the ones I have been writing forever. I couldn’t go through the year without your delightful calendar, by the way, which also becomes a kind of quick journal for me. They are all saved for future reference. Thank you for your inspiration and company. You keep me in a very happy place. You awaken the Susan Branch in all of us.
LOL :-)!
P.S another thought: Both cursive and typing were activities that engaged students in a relaxing and quiet (and not so quiet) opportunity to be focused and productive…something today’s hyper jumping-jacks could use instead of all of those calming medicines.
final thought: My love of cursive brought me to the world of
calligraphy. Happiness = chocolate in my mouth and a pen in
my hand but only a pen in my hand will do just as well. Your
reply thrilled me so I wrote more. Thanks.
LOVELY POST! So many memories came to me, as I read this! I have thought of no more ‘real paper letters’ being sent, since e-mails, but not of no more ‘cursive’! Hoping it will not come to that! Thank you so for your blog! Thank you too, for a simply beautiful giveaway! Wishing you a lovely day, Linda ♥
Good Morning Susan 🙂 How did you pick the name “Anderson” on your recipe book? That is my maiden name. Would love to give this gift to my daughter full of family recipes at her bridal shower this June!!!!!!