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
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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?
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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!
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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
Dear Susan, Thank you so much for sharing all about handwriting and diaries. I have been keeping diaries since I was young too. Unfortunately, I have lost track of my OLD ones, but do have my recent ones. You have inspired me to never give up on this somewhat lost art, and not only that, but to make them more special and creative. I have a daytimer schedule book that I write in every day with a section for journaling, which I write in just about every day. I also keep track of birds that come to our feeders, special things in the night sky, like what I have observed or what there is to see, and also what our egg count is each day from our chickens. But that does not leave alot of room for PERSONAL thoughts and ideas. I recently finished a real journal that I had been writing in for years, and now I am inspired to start over with a new one, complete with all the good ideas you have mentioned. And all in cursive, which I love to do. When I was young, I also loved letter writing, as I do now, but I never had anyone to write to, so I would really try to come up with ideas , just so I could write a letter and then receive something back…I can’t remember exactly who I tried to write, probably organizations and things like that who would definitely answer… I loved addressing the envelopes really neatly, and put on the stamps and such…as I still do, and now I love to decorate the envelopes! So thank you, thank you, for all your inspiration!!! And happy writing!!! Love, Donna
Hi Susan, Hi “Vanna” – pick me! I got so lost in this post I almost forgot where I was. Sorta woke up to go get more coffee. Thank you for sharing yourself with us.
Hi! I am happy to say my son is learning cursive in school (Waldorf!) and using a real ink cartridge pen!! Cursive will live on…… Yay!!!
Keep Cursive in Our Schools! Thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention, I agree it is something we should not lose. Our handwriting is part of who we are, no matter how many computer documents we type in our lives. Thanks for the fun give away!
Susan, loved your post on cursive writing. I have some cards that my nana sent me which I cherish very much. I have a story to tell you about my 20 year old son. I was with my 20 year old son the other day who was signing up for a new bank account and when it came to his signature, he printed his name. I looked at him and said you have to sign your name not print it and he looked at me and said, I don’t know how to cursive sign my name. I was horrified. Why didn’t I know this??? I have a 18 month old only grandson and I have vowed to teach him cursive writing because it will definetly not be taught when he goes to school. As he is my first grandchild, I would love to win the Grandmother’s book. My fingers are crossed and so are my t’s.
Barbara from Massachusetts
First grandchild! Congratulations!
Dear Susan, every word you write is so true – how will we live without cursive, without letter writing – my father in law was a prolific writer and I have every single one of his letters he wrote over a 30 year period. Sometimes he was mad at someone and vented, other times he related his memories of growing up too quickly in Kentucky, then of his travels playing guitar in New York and Tennessee and Indiana – so many little things I discover more each time I read them. There isn’t anything more important that you can leave your relatives is a letter or a diary for them to know you when you have passed on – such a loss if children aren’t introduced to cursive writing and letter writing!!!
I love cursive, too!!!!! I agree with writing in a scrapbook in your own handwriting….one of my favorite treasures is a recipe written in my Grandmother’s handwriting for blonde brownies!!! Yum!!! Thanks for brightening up my days…….
I, too journal; must have gotten that from my Grandmother. I have her cursive diary of homesteading in S. Dakota; and it is a treasure to me. My Mother wrote me letters weekly; all in cursive and I have a ‘ribboned’ bundle of those; even have a framed one on my wall. Rah Rah to cursive.
P.S. I’d love to win the packet of items, too.
Back in grammar school, there was a teacher at our school that was one of my Mom’s best friends from college. She also taught cursive writing on our local public television station. Our class would have a weekly class with her to “fine tune” our cursive writing skills. I would write the “R” in “Robins” as my Mom did, with a prettly little loop in it. The teacher told me I couldn’t do that — I could just have the little tail at the beginning of it. I told her that was the way my Mom did it, thinking that since they were good buddies, that would be okay. It wasn’t! I had to correct it. However, I always preferred the way my Mom wrote it!
I would be thrilled to win your three prizes. I have given those notecards to a friend of mine before, and she loved them. I am not a grandmother, but several of my friends are becoming grandmoms now, and I would love to have one to give to a dear friend of mine. I would also enjoy the recipe book — I really need to do some organization of my recipes.
I so enjoy your blog and often spoil myself with small shopping sprees on your on-line store. I absolutely LOVE your art work. Happy spring to you!
Hi Marsha, my Mother’s family lives in Birmingham and that city holds a special place in my heart. My beloved Grandmother Florence loved AL and I would drive my Mother and sisters to visit her every year in June. In her later years she came to IN to live with us; but, we made sure toward the end she went back to her home. I think Irondale was a small town close to where part of the family lived ( Roselawn) I can’t remember. I just wanted to say hello.
Deborah — how fun to hear from you. I live in a suburb of Birmingham called Homewood. I know where Irondale is and have some friends that live there. There is no “Roselawn” that I know of, but there is a “Woodlawn.” My Mom actually went to Woodlawn High School and lived in Eastlake. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you!
Marsha Robins of Birmingham, Alabama
What a beautiful post. But then I think all your posts are beautiful! Really enJOYed this one, a real inspiration to me. Thank you Susan.
I recently learned about “no more cursive” when my granddaughter who has dyslexia (11 yrs. old) had to transfer from catholic school to public school (because they didn’t have resources to help her academically) and found out her new classmates don’t know what cursive is and can’t read it or write it! This is as big a mistake similar to when the public schools stopped phonics and found out the kids couldn’t read with just sight reading so they brought it back and taught it again. Those kids can’t spell either. And all those children fell through the cracks at that time. I always say, if its not broken, don’t fix it! This whole things saddens me. They say everything will be done on computers in the future but we all have to put our signature down sometimes and if you can’t write cursive, oh well, you are out of luck. Also, some child could get a letter from a friend or relative who writes cursive but they won’t be able to read it. They won’t be able to get a job in the post office if they can’t read cursive either! I always loved handwriting and we had special handwriting books. I love snail mail and write to my cousins in Ireland and they write back to me but sometimes we do send emails too. I love getting mail in the mailbox! March 10th…..I Love Cursive Day!!! Yeah yeah yeah
Love all your blogs……..enjoy! Gail & Joe Buss, Bev. Hills, Fl
Susan,
Thank you so much for the inspiration. I have always hated my own handwritting but now I have a new appreciation for it.
I love the idea about giving a book to your grandma to answer all those questions you forget to ask. My husband’s grandma recently passed away and now that she is gone there are all sorts of things we keep finding that we wish we knew. I would love to get one of these books for both my mother, mother-in-law and grandmother.
I just read this right now this very moment and couldn’t agree with you more…..long live cursive! No, that’s not good enough, I need to shout it…..LONG LIVE CURSIVE! And today, my 4th grandchild (and 3rd granddaughter is due)……but I don’t actually think she’ll make her appearance in this big, bright, wonderful world today. I think she’ll be late! But I’ll still write all about her birth and subsequent birthdays in my journals in CURSIVE!
Congratulations and almost a happy birthday!
I too was saddened when they said they wouldn’t be teaching cursive anymore. I think it has been coming for quite a while as my children have shared with me that they sometimes have a hard time reading their Grandmother’s letters because they have been written in cursive. (My children are 31 and 28!) They had learned how to write in Italics and both have awful penmanship!
Hi Susan,
I wish I could post my comment in cursive for you although mine slants the wrong way and is very hard to read. Still it is mine and mine alone. Everyone knows what note is from me when they read it. I don’t even have to sign it. That is the great thing about cursive just like you are saying. I still have all my old letters too, in a basket. I remember I had a pen pal in France. She was learning English and I was learning French. I wrote my letters in French and she wrote hers in English and we would critique each other. It was great fun!
Hugs to you,
Lisa
LONG LIVE HANDWRITING! ♥ It gives the written word personality. It is eye-candy for the receiver. It is art by the writer. ……hmmmm…..time to write another letter or two!!!
Sigh..the written word..I too got A”s and still love writing notes and letters!! My friends still talk about the letters I used to write in highschool in the 70″s..many moons ago…love it all Susan.. Your are such an inspiration!!
I can remember the time when it was all about good handwriting in First Grade.
The First Grade teachers were dedicated to make every child exhibit perfect handwriting. Then when I started teaching in 1978 there came the revolution where we wanted writing to be more about putting your thoughts down on paper. As a result, there just wasn’t enough time in the school day to spend a great deal of time on handwriting. You can imagine the horror those First Grade teachers had to endure. What? No time for handwriting practice? No copying quotes and poems from the chalkboard? Yes, we were all told. The children must now spend that time organizing thoughts, using similes, metaphors, adjectives, etc. So, it seems the way of teaching cursive writing. The children must work out math problems not just learn to add, subtract, multiply and divide. And so it goes. Goodbye beautiful cursive handwriting. You once could identify people by their handwriting. Is it all to be lost? I certainly hope not. I think I will stop here and feel sad for another part of childhood that is disappearing.
I love your website and your books. And the way you write.I have always loved getting and writing letters and notes.
Hi Sue,
I think that nothing is more beautiful than lovely handwriting, I’ve always strived to write as beautiful as possible and I do think it came from our elementary school handwriting classes. We always wanted to be the class that received the gold seal, it was so special. I being a lefty, I had to work extra hard but I am proud of my handwriting and people comment on it all the time, its just something thats just so natural for me to do. It’s a sad day if cursive is no longer taught in schools, it’s sad enough that people very seldom send letters snail mail anymore too. I’ll always write in my fancy cursive style its just part of me and I hope I can pass it down in my hand written recipes, cards, and little notes that I love to send.
Hope you’re enjoying this most beautiful New England day! -East Longmeadow, Ma.
1198 comments already! I don’t know what “they” are thinking, doing away with cursive. I saw your dad worked for the phone company. I retired from the phone company myself! Started at 17. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. I’ve said before how much I enjoy them. Continue enjoying Spring!
I was an information operator just out of high school. If someone was mean to me, instead of nine, I said Ny-an. 🙂 My punishment.
My handwriting is atrocious but it’s mine! I too keep a journal & encourage my children & youth group kids to do the same. I love reading the published journals & diaries of others. It is such a wonderful glimpse into the lives of others, particularly those from long ago.
I love writing letters – and my handwriting has always been un-beautiful. but I love getting letters from my grandmother and her sister – we write each other every week.
it isn’t just cursive that schools are dropping – penmanship as a whole is a lost art!
Your blog is one of the bright spots in my day. Wish I had started to write diaries when you did, but I suppose it isn’t too late. Keep writing and illustrating for us it is such a blessing. Thank you.
I couldn’t agree more, there is something so romantic about cursive writing…I remember feeling very grown-up when I finally learned how, I could write like an adult. Such an achievement when you’re in the the fourth grade!
I am going to homeschool my girls in cursive! With two daughters, age 5 and 2 1/2 years old, it’s difficult to muster the energy to journal. In fact I’ve begun to hate making to-do lists, because really, I can only do one or two non-maintenance things per day, and compared to my “before kids” life that is depressing to me. However, I DO jot down the day’s significant happenings past-tense on my Susan Branch calendar which gives me just the right amount of space to fill and feel accomplished, like I’m moving forward instead of just in circles. Susan’s musings and pictures remind me of the many joys all this “simple country living” I’m doing lets us experience.
Mom’s are heroes!
Oh yes please to all three prizes, and especially the “Grandma Story” books ~ I had already intended to purchase these as Mother’s Day gifts for my mum, my mum-in-law, my grandma, and my grandma-in-law to recognize their new STATUS in life once our baby is born. Such a great creation Susan, thank you! 🙂
And you’re having a baby! You are making a lot of people very happy!
Susan –
I, too, try and keep a diary. I have a book by my bed, and try to write in it every night (not successfully, I am afraid). When my children were little, and a bit frustrating, you can here my frustration in the things I wrote. I am trying to see the bigger picture now, and right down events and happenings and good things that are important to me every day. Things that I am grateful for. On Facebook one day, I mentioned in my status that I was grateful. So many people wondered what was wrong! Nothing was wrong. I just realized that I needed to say I was grateful – for my family, relatively good health, a job and a roof over my head in a place where we can live with horses, dogs, cats and the occasional chicken.
I love diaries – they can take you back to another time.
Thank you for your continual inspiration.
I love to see other’s penmanship. A part of who they are that is only revealed once put on paper (or written in sand!), a style that is uniquely theirs! To have something handwritten by them is to have a piece of them forever! I love old handwritten recipes, especially those cherished recipes that are spotted with vanilla and butter stains! Keepsakes! Thank you Susan for another beautiful giveaway! xo
Thank you for such an intriguing blog i agree our handwriting is as personal and individual as our fingerprints! what is the world coming to when it is not considered a necessary lifeskill. I love that you have kept diaries i dont keep one but i love “” The country Diary of an Edwardian Lady “”and read it through the seasons, i even designed my wedding invitations with illustrations from there . Cheerio Denise
Susan! So happy to find you! Adore your books, copy your handwriting (not in a weird way) for fun and also got A’s in Penmanship in Catholic school. I still LOVE pens and paper and handwriting! Thanks for a chance to win! So happy…;/)
Terri Betz
P.S. Love reading and writing letters too! And I’m a Grandma too!
Viva la handwriting! Thank you for your ever-cheerful and charming insights.
Susan — I couldn’t agree more — I, too, miss the handwritten word. When I was in 4th grade, my teacher, Mr. Reiner, handed each of us a “writing compendium” for us to practice our letters. I remember bringing this home and my Mom asking me what a “compendium” was! I was proud to enlighten her and, even now, it seems like a big word for a 4th grader! Even before this, I created a “Mommy Book” in which I would write things and draw pictures — it was like a diary addressed to Mom. She still has it and will treasure it always. Reading it is like a window into my younger self.
I also kept diaries for awhile — in fact I have several like the dark blue one with the flowers that you have…I’ve stopped keeping them because, as you said, I would rather burn them than have someone else read them! I bared my soul on many a page. But, I also can’t believe that I wrote some of it — it is so good!! I guess I’ve always expressed myself better through a pen than my tongue. I’ve gone on to create one-of-a-kind cards for friends and co-workers when they’re sick or retire….they can be ten 81/2 x 11 pages long,
with funny memories and pictures…everyone at work wants a “JoAnne card”.
I use your stickers when I can and you inspire me to be a better friend to everyone! I love reading your blog — notes from a kindred spirit…thanks!
You’re the glue!
Susan,
I so love to write in cursive. I have started so many journals but never seem to get past the 1st page. I think too much about what I should write and then just give up. How do you decide? I think should I write about how I feel or about the weather or about what my day has been like or what the grandboys did or should I just include it all which would take forever. See I told you I think aobut it too much. Any suggestions would be so helpful.
Just say exactly what you did that day. That’s all, the rest will follow. xoxo
My sister is about to become a grandma your book wold be a perfect gift for her!
Love your blog!
Hello! I am reading this latest blog entry late since I have been babysitting my first and most wonderful granddaughter. She went home yesterday! :>( She will definitely have to learn cursive, perhaps from me if from no one else! It is a necessary discipline and a dying art. Her Daddy, my son, picked up a pen, properly held and started drawing when he was 9 months old! I can remember seemingly endless periods of handwriting practice in school, over and over again, making circles moving from the elbow! WOW… but I have to admit I print more now then write in cursive. If I slow down I can write neatly! Handwriting is a beautiful expression and a real connection of the writer and his thoughts spilling forth on paper. I have many letters that my parents wrote to each other and the handwriting evokes much more warmth and personality than mass produced printed pages. We must keep cursive alive! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and gorgeous writing, as well as your art! Inspirational indeed, makes one pause to reflect, as well as smile.
I had no idea that they were discontinuing cursive instruction in schools, thank you for making us aware. That is such a SAD thing! I cannot imagine a world without cursive! You have renewed my resolve to pick up the pen more often. I used to write letters all the time – back in the day. And you are oh so right about one’s handwriting being such a unique identifier – instant recognition. I treasure the recipe cards and few notes that I have from my grandmother. When I hold those scraps of paper, reading her words, I feel ‘connected’ once again. I am so very thankful for the gift of her handwriting! Thank you for sharing yourself, and helping me to feel less self-conscious about writing it down!
Hi Susan, I, too, received all A’s in school for my cursive writing. I have received compliments about my handwriting all my life, the last one coming just this past week. I think it is inherited for me, though. My mother and aunt have beautiful handwriting as well.
Bonnie
I loved it when I had friends with whom I would write letters. You slow down and sit and read. I would get excited about answering back. Both reading a letter from a friend and writing one – it feels like you are there with that person. Thank you for sharing.
I love this post Susan. I asked for, and received a beautiful silver swiss fountain pen for Christmas from my mother. I’ve been writing her letters and enclosing her positive quotes (some of which I get from your books, and blog). It is so relaxing to write a letter in cursive. So different than email, but worth the effort!
Hello Susan~
I am so happy to know that there are so many more ladies that feel the same way you and I do about cursive handwriting. I was so saddened when our daughter (an elementary school teacher) told me that some schools are not teaching cursive. I was shocked and wanted to cry. I have spent over twenty years researching my family genealogy and I can tell you when I find a document or letter with handwriting of my ancestors on it I tremble. To me it is truly a part of this dear person on the paper. And to be able to hold their signature or read their most deepest thoughts in a letter is a wonderful experience for me and I feel a connection to this family member that lived so long ago. Somehow seeing their very own handwriting with my own eyes makes the person so real to me and not that far away. I pray that cursive handwriting will not die! I also enjoy writing notes and letters to family and friends often and I will continue to pass this art onto my own children. My goodness Susan your give aways are amazing. Your Grandmother Remembers book looks wonderful and I would love to be the lucky winner…as I will become a first time grandmother this spring. Our daughter’s first baby is due on Mother’s Day in May. I am so looking forward to becoming a grandmama and I would love to complete a book like this for each of the precious grandchildren that our Dear Lord will bless me with. May I add..if by chance my name is chosen as the winner…I would love the Grandma Remembers Book and Susan I would like to share your other two giveaways with another girlfriend who has submitted a comment on this post. Would that be possible for you to then choose a second girlfriend for your beautiful note cards and lovely recipe book?! With Warm Wishes~ Debbie
Due on Mother’s Day? How did you plan that? Wonderful!
I too would have liked to have asked my mother more so I could tell my children now that they are grown, I do have some of my grandmother’s diaries and I love what she shared about her wedding week. You inspire me, I must write down some of my own experiences to be shared when I am gone. Thank You.
Hi Sue,
Your comments about cursive writing remind me of my father.Today is my Dad’s birthday and he would be 101 if he was still living. Sometimes he wrote letters to me when I was in college. He wrote in cursive, but because he wrote so quickly it was very hard to read. I LOVED getting his letters anyway. The best part? It usually took me a week of reading and re-reading the letter to figure out what he said! His writing was unique. Just catching a glimpse of his signature on old cards brings many wonderful memories of him to mind.
Happy Birthday memories of your dad. xoxo
Ahhh… cursive writing. The bane of my elementary education! In St. John’s (and, I suppose most schools of the NY Archdiocese, any way) penmanship was a graded subject that counted as much as our math and English grades in our final averages! Mine was most notably and commonly described as “atrocious”! It took many years of filling the 43 composition books of my daily journals – started after my son was born in 1978 – to settle on my more-or-less permanent penmanship. When I’m paying attention, it is quite decent. In fact, people often comment on its legibility when signing a credit card slip. Of course, it rarely comes out as neatly on those electronic signing tablets that the UPS and FedEx people want you to sign — with your finger, no less!! All that practice for naught!
Hi Susan,
I appreciated this blog so much. I, too, hate the thought of the end of cursive education. As with you, I have always been complimented on my handwriting ever since I was a child. I never did keep a journal but wish I had. I so appreciate having my great-grandmother’s diaries in her own handwriting. I read them every so often. Your give-aways are perfect for me. I love writing letters, love your recipe books and also love to cook. I always love getting a handwritten recipe card. But the best part is that I am going to be a first-time grandmother next month!!! How much more perfect could it be? Thank you for such a beautiful tribute to the written word. May we help future generations to appreciate it as well.
I think I will just hold my breath until the drawing in the hopes that I will be chosen for ONE of the truly wonderful “prizes”! LOVE cursive and have an old Spencerian Script book with companion journal . . . so beautiful 🙂 I also had the privilege of studying Copperplate with Fran Mitchell in Oklahoma many years okay . . . I am NOT Fran, but she was the BEST teacher! Thanks for your blog, your warmth, your freshness!
Yea for cursive. My grandson is learning it now and he really seems to enjoy making the letters correctly. He had a few problems but luckily I was able to help him with how some of the letters should look. I remember having to write the same letter over and over until it looking just right! And I didn’t mind a bit.
Hi Susan,
I see that our local newspaper made your blog today. I mentioned you and your post about cursive writing on my blog today. I told about my memories of grade school, when I learned cursive.
Balisha
Your posts ARE like a treasured note ! They are so fun and interesting to look at and Savor !
I keep all the little notes and cards I am lucky enough to receive.
Much BLeSsiNgs !!
You have the most beautiful penmanship I have ever seen. It is perfect! 🙂
Makes me want to strive to make mine more beautiful as well!
Thank you for this and ALL your posts and for sharing your wonderful gifts with us.
OH! i thought my 40 years of “journals” were alone in the
“Must be burned” catagory! Many college notebooks became my silent counselors.
i gave my Mother a Grandma Journal once, it got destroyed in moldy, soggy Oregon. i started a Blog to honor her..perhaps one of the grandchildren near her would help put her memories in a new Diary?
hmmmm….if i’m too late for the drawing there’s still her birthday coming up!
Love the ‘Scream’ of thought… that’s exactly it!!
Blessings & Buzz’z to You and Hubby !
Your post on cursive inspires me to put aside some time to send notes to friends.I have been so blessed with friends and this is a “push” to not neglect that wonderful part of my life and let them know—-in cursive—-how much they mean to me.
Thanks for always being a bright spot in our days!!!!
There’s nothing like a handwritten note or letter. I have a box of treasured correspondence that brings me such joy! My mother and grandmother have both been gone for many years, but holding a letter from either of them in my hands and re-reading their thoughtful words makes me feel as if they are just over my shoulder.
Yes! LONG LIVE CURSIVE. Amen.
I have moods when all I want to do is write in cursive and make beautiful letters. I can look back at my handwriting and detect certain moods or feelings simply by how I formed the letters. I enjoy other’s handwriting as well. We simply MUST keep the handwritten word.
Hi Susan,
Enjoyed your post about cursive writing very much. Our son is in second grade and learning to cursive write. A big thank you goes out to his teacher who decided to keep the lesson on her syllabus.
Also, Happy 100th Anniversary to the Girl Scouts today!
When I was a girl I kept a diary but as I got older I was much to busy. How sad.
If I could go back in time that is one thing I would tell myself is to continue with your diary. 🙂
We all just need to do our part to make cursive cool again.
I am sorry to see them doing away with hand writing skills…I have three granddaughters–the oldest is 9 and I have been trying to get her to improve her writing–and she has gotten neater. My mother had pretty writing but the prettiest was done by two doctors! I worked as an RN in the early ’70’s and they had the most beautiful hand writing. They would be appalled at what is called handwriting today! My hand writing has suffered since I do most of my corespondince on the computer…
Would love to have the grandma book for my girls!!!!
I love your contests, as it always gives me the opportunity to thank you for your blog! I’ve shared it with family and friends who have come to love it as much as I have. I shared it with my boss the other day when she was in the ER with her husband, hoping it would calm her some, and it did. Just today we were talking about how, over the years, our handwriting has become a little messier. What a perfect blog entry to now share with her! Thank you!!! Hugs!
Dear Susan,
Thank you for “I Love Cursive” Day! I’m all in…but tell me how you knew that that was one topic at our girlfriends lunch last Thursday? I know there’s lots of talk about kindred spirits on this blog, but really, the timing is so spot on. You see, one of the girlfriends had her father at lunch. He had turned 100 on February 9th and a few days after his birthday I received a thankyou note handwritten by him….his own cursive written thank you! (My husband remarked that the handwriting was better than his own.) So anyway, I had to compliment him on it and of course the conversation regarding the demise of cursive started. When I saw your blog on Saturday….well….great minds must think alike! 😉
I could go on and on about what handwriting means to me, but you don’t have time to read all these comments, and I’m going to go hunt down samples of my father’s handwriting to pass down to my grown children. Maybe (hopefully) they’ll appreciate them as much as I do.
P.S. Thanking my Catholic school education for handwriting that still gets comments after all these years! (Mr. 100 went to Catholic schools as well)
How lovely to celebrate your 100 year birthday out to lunch with the girls!
Vanna, Please pick me. Arlene from Minnesota
Thank you, Susan, for reminding me of all the simple things in life I may take for granted-you give me new inspiration every day!!!!
Hi Susan, this brings back so many memories of my mother. She wrote hundreds of letters. I wish I had some of them now. And also her brother, my Uncle Joe would send Christmas cards with beautiful hand written script. It was like getting a card from royalty. I send cards that I paint with watercolors with little scene’s on them for Birthday’s and special occasions. A lot of times they send me a thank you note. It’s fun and I’m happy that they appreciate them. See how you have inspired me. Thanks for all you do.
The world would be a very sad place without cursive!
You have inspired me to start using cursive again!!! I taught Pre-school for 14 years and got in the habit of printing. I ‘d forgotten how freely my pencil moves when I write in cursive, it just flows. I used to love the curly q’s too!!! Now I’m all excited to sit down and write a letter to my best firend; in cursive!! Thank you, as usual, I’m in my happy place after reading your blog! Love, Mrs. Beth
Oh, Joy, joy, joy!!!! After two weeks of being unable to open your website, I was able to open it just now! I am SO glad to be able to see it again… we are leaving tomorrow on a trip, but I wanted to say how thrilled I am to be back and to see some of the thousands of posts for this blog entry… and now I will go back and read it… you should see the goofy smile I have on my face. I really hope I can keep coming back here! All the best to you all… and Susan.
P.S. As a former schoolteacher, I saw the “writing” on the wall a year or two ago. Cursive is going the way of teaching kids how to tell time on an analog clock. Both skills are ones that should be taught, then let the students choose whether or not to use them when they are older.
Have a wonderful evening!
SO glad to see you back! Something very strange happened, I know there were at least two of you experiencing this “lock out” or whatever it was, but I’m thrilled to see whatever it was is gone!
So am I , Susan, so am I! Up bright and early this morning… hope you have a bright, sunshiny day.
Long live Cursive!
If children don’t at least learn to read cursive they will seem partially illiterate and be handicapped to a certain degree.
I determined, and so far have succeeded, to give my grandchildren a love for letter writing before they learned to type and email. I receive so many sweet letters and get to watch their cursive improve from year to year!
I, like you, got A’s in handwriting, Susan, and in 6th grade I was the only student in my class who had free time during handwriting practice! Of course, I would not have minded practicing, since I did it for fun at other times, but it was nice to have a half hour of free reading! 🙂
Imagine the thrill I had when preparing to play a solitary game of Yahtzee on our gazebo one day and a score sheet fluttered to the ground with my deceased mama’s name on it, written in her own hand! It is a thrill to receive anything written in a person’s distinctive, personal handwriting. It makes them seem nearer.
On her last trip to my house, I my mother a memory journal. At first she said, “Oh, Honey, I don’t think I could do this.” I told her she did not have to fill it out, just thumb through it and answer the questions she wanted to when she felt up to it. Once she began, she loved it! She died about 3 /12 months later and I am thrilled to have the stories she was able to write!
Thank you for cheering people on to keep journals and keep writing in cursive, Susan! Loved this post.
oops! left out the gave–should read I gave my mother a memory journal.
I am a “retired”second grade teacher, and back in the day, toward the end of the year, we used to introduce cursive writing. The students would get sooo excited because cursive writing was a rite of passage. It meant that they were getting “old” and getting ready for third grade.
I am currently back in second grade as a “helper” of sorts, and there is no sign of cursive anywhere. In fact, the kids are so busy with reading, and math and the demands of the curriculum, there isn’t time to work on handwriting at all.
Sad, no handwriting, and I guess no art either.
I love your crusade to keep cursive and especially like your products that cherish our history in such charming formats! Keep up the good work! I so enjoy visiting you. Beth from Indiana (I know you enjoy knowing where we live.) 🙂
I love to know where you live . . . gives a better picture, sort of like handwriting!
Wonderful blog this week, I do love handwritten cards and letters from family and friends, it’s just expresses something a typed letter can’t! Please enter me into the drawing.
Love Cursive! I home schooled and made sure my boys learned cursive along with typing :o) I say we bring back fountain pens also! Thank you for the generous drawing!
Hi Susan! One of my best friends and I have just had grandchildren born and I would love to gift her with the grandmother book. We both subscribed to Country Living when our own children were born and loved your pages. In fact when I had to downsize a few years ago and finally get rid of my old magazines I tore out every one of your recipe pages:)
I taught cursive writing to third graders..they were so excited to be learning it! In fact we would have a cursive writing lesson on the very first day of third grade…something for them to take home and proudly show their parents.
My grandmother taught me cursive writing, and I plan to teach my little granddaughter, too. Everyone’s handwriting is unique and should be treasured!
What an offer, I still write letters to my friend of 24 years, as well as send little notes to my daughter. I LOVE to cook, and i have a full recipe box filled with hand written recipes from my grandmother and mother. In fact, my niece was just married and I gave her 25 handwritten recipes from the family!!! I have been admired your art and all of your goodies for a LONG time. Also, I am a teacher and I fear children will be sliding their hand over an ipad and won’t know how to write a thank you note!!!
Thank you for the wonderful post. I’m a relatively new Grandma and would love to document our family history for my darling granddaughter.
Dear Susan,
Thank you for another inspiring post. I always feel better after I stop by for a “visit”.
I loved reading your keepsakes. I’ve kept diaries over the years, but lost most. I recently ran across one I had kept in one of your Days Books and it was so wonderful, I kept telling my husband…this was the year, so and so happened. Alot happened that year and I never would have recalled it otherwise. I have a few letters from my grandmothers and LOVE seeing their handwriting. I do have all the letters my son sent to me when he was in Basic Training for the Army.I’ll be 20 years ago in August. When he was deployed in AFghanistan 6 years ago, he sent a few letters, but most were e-mails.
Love coming to my computer and seeing whats new with you!
Judy
What?? No cursive! That will not work–our world cannot go around without wonderful handwriting. My daughters & I will teach my grandchildren. Who does not love receiving that handwritten note from the mailbox? Keeping our journals is the history our children & grandchildren will cherish. So much love is expressed in the written word and no e-mail or other electronic device can replace those special works of art. I still remember learning to write and the satisfaction of forming each new letter. We must lobby for handwriting to be taught forever!
Yes! Let’s save cursive! How very sad it would be to lose it.
I love to hand write letters, but I have been too self conscience about my handwriting to write in (mess up) my journals, such as you have on your shelf. I even have one fabric one with the same print as yours. (The blue one with the white print.) I have been told I have beautiful handwriting. It looks like an old school teacher’s. I took penmanship too seriously I guess. And I am sad that my sons didn’t get much of it in school, but it is a blessing they can type. I mean really! I am even more sad that it will not be taught at all anymore. I have my grandmother’s penmanship/spelling book from grade school published in 1895.
So…I started buying your calendars for your hand writing and the sayings, and your tiny pictures. Imagine my excitement when I found out that you WROTE cookbooks!!!
The week of company is almost over. Tea in dainty cups and Moravian cookies that are equally dainty. ~sigh~
I love cursive, too. Now that my hand shakes a little, it frustrates me that my writing looks a little shaky. But, it looks like my grandmother’s did so I guess that can’t be all bad.
No, not all that bad. 🙂
Yes, I completely agree with you about handwriting… not just because I am a teacher, but because I cherish my Nana’s recipes written in her hand. They’re old and faded, but they instantly bring me back to my childhood in the kitchen with her making butter cookies or lemon cake (which I’ve never been able to get right!). Thanks for your thoughtful posts… such a sweet way to end my day.
Hi Susan! What an awesome post! Do you know my father was very proud of my handwriting too! 🙂 When my big family of 5 siblings would drive an hour drive over the river and through the woods to visit my grandparents on their farm, every time between 3rd & 4th grade after I learned cursive handwriting, my dad would have me sit down at the kitchen table & demonstrate my “beautiful” handwriting for my grandparents!! LOL! I was thrilled that my dad made such a big deal over me! I loved cursive handwriting…then and today! How sad it would be to not teach our children this beloved type of art!
Wow, this entry spoke to me for many reasons and I agree with the many girlfriends out there, Long Live Cursive! I think back to when I was teaching and remember the hours of reading homework assignments. Never would I have thought that schools would stop teaching students how to write in cursive! I feel lucky and grateful to have read the ideas and emotions and creative thoughts of those students. And, I hope them great success in their future!! May the parents, grandparents and aunts and, yes, uncles take on this important quest to teach the children in their families cursive writing. What a powerful expression of their individuality will be lost if no one sees it as important to the child!!
This brought back a memory of learning to use a pen in grade school. I was so used to writing with a pencil, and using a pen was scary! The ink in the pen made my writing “slide” – no more “pushing” the pencil to make my letters! I thought I would never learn how to write neatly with a pen!
Hello Susan,
Fabulous Blog…Love your cursive….Thats what brought me to me many, many years ago….and to this day it is still beautiful and perfect. I love handwriting, but mine has changed…Its not as good, and I think its because of writing in a rush. Thank you for sharing all those beautiful letters and cards and books and old special papers..they are truly beautiful to look at. I hope that I may have a chance at your giveaway…thank you for doing it for us Girlfriends…
Question Susan, I am always antiquing and have been to a few shows recently as well as many little shops up and down the coast of Calif. and always looking for Johnson Bros. Rose Chintz…..so hard to find pieces…any ideas..?
Thank you
Carol O. in So. Cal.
It’s always just the luck of the draw; unless you try replacements.com — they are too expensive in my opinion, but they often have what you want. Then, there is ebay . . .
Hi Susan.
My little granddaughter goes to a school that stopped teaching cursive, so I am teaching her. I am a retired elementary teacher and I always taught cursive. Second graders could not wait until it was time to start learning cursive, usually after the Christmas break. When I taught third grade the students would practice by writing verses of poems that I had written on the chalk board.
Soon cursive handwriting will not be part of our curriculum, but I will continue to teach cursive handwriting for as long as I teach 4th grade. Thank you for validating something I feel passionate about, but find little support. Could you please push for March 10 to be a National “I Love Cursive Day”? 🙂
I’ll put it on my calendars for 2014 (the 2013 are already at the printer).
Hi Susan, Every once in a while you do a post that makes me think we are twins but separated at birth. I always got A’s in handwriting too and was obsessed with my letters being perfect. I practiced the circles until I was sick of them. I love writing and always have. I also have kept a diary off and on since I was about 8 or 9 and I too have way too much information in those books but some reason continue to hang on to them. I wonder if I should burn them before I die. I do get a bit lazy with them at times but continue to keep them. I love your blog.
Again its “we have only just begun” Karen Carpenter, Grand Rapids MI
Cursive writing cannot be lost!!! I will keep using it forever & a day!!! I recently was given some old diaries of my mothers from back in the early 50’s when I was just a little gal. What fun to read them, but I now have so many questions with no one to ask!!! I have kept a diary off & on, but think tomorrow is a good day to start once again! Many thanks for all your treats & special touches that brighten my days! Would be thrilled to be a winner 🙂
Love diaries! Love your blog!! we must start a campaign to save Cursive!!!
It is at times like these that I am glad I homeschool. Because both of my kids have to learn cursive- and yes, there have been complaints 😉 One of them learned Spencerian script (because he wanted FANCY writing) whilest the other will be working through the normal Palmer style handwriting (Because she really dislikes having to write!).
Maybe I need to get your books out to show her 😉
Beautiful post – and I love finding old hand-written documents. How much closer to real history can you be to see ink-blots, corrections and pen indentations from long-ago? 🙂
I had a friend who had beautiful copperplate handwriting. I have one of her letters (written to me after I got married and moved away), and keep it pressed in a book. Whenever I read the book I can read her letter, too, and remember what a wonderful friend she was. That’s the magic of writing letters, the memory of shared things. Thank you for sharing with all your millions of girlfriends!
Mona in Modesto
=^..^=
Dear Susan and Girlfriends,
1947 was a very good year! I was born that year too.
As a very little girl I can remember watching my mother write letters. Sitting at the diningroom table with her fat pen and a sheet of white paper, her hand made the most perfect lines of scribbles, squiggles, dots, spaces,…that all meant something. I watched with fascination as she wrote and occasionally dipped her pen in an interesting blue bottle of “scripts” ink. I just had to try writing myself! With pencil in hand I imitated her on what she called a scratch paper notepad, writing long lines of scribbles , loops and waves that looked to me exactly what she had done …but when I was taught in school each letter had to be mastered painstakingly on it’s own which seemed to erase my enthusiasm for hand writing.
until the7th grade where I sat next to a girl who had the most beautiful writing I had ever seen. Her letters, her slant her spacing were perfection and she wrote with so much rhythm style and grace, I was determined to write like her and spent many of hours practicing long lines of mmmmm,s and wwwwww’s and eeeeeee,s until I too got the rhythm, the slant, and the spacing and letters but they never turned out quite like hers…like mine, but not hers .
I believe writing is an extension of our energy, our heart our soul and personality. I’ve noticed, my writing changes with my mood. So, to do away with cursive is to do away with an important aspect of our communication of who we are in a particular moment.
When we type, a little piece of the expression of our personality and mood is lost as we have to rely solely on our choice of words to convey what we feeling . Unless we jazz it up the best we can with what we have available on the keyboard… 🙂 …But we are still limited in some ways …. and us creative people don’t care much for limits…. but I find other ways of getting creative in spelling, punctuation and grammar. Never the less, schools need to cover the basics reading, writing and rithmatic.
I agree! Make March 10th Cursive Day! If it’s on the calendar it must be so! We just all need to make sure we buy Susan Branch calendars for ourselves, friends and families. 🙂
Blessings
Victoria
PS Long Live Cursive!!!!!
Years ago, when we cleaned out my Grandmother’s house, I found stacks of letters I had written her over the years. Letter’s written while I was in college, newly married and living away, while on vacation, and sweet notes on her birthday, mother’s day, valentine’s day, or “just because.” They are now a treasure to me because they so clearly document pieces of my life. Much more importantly, they are a tangible reminder of how much I loved my Grandmother and what an important place she held in my life.
Don’t you just love finding old letters? What a gift, she saved them!
Hi Susan!
I love reading your blog..it is so full of love and nostalgia..two of my favorite things!
I’ve got to say, I just love your site. Your love and appreciation of old things, treasures items, is wonderful. And how many people appreciate handwriting from years past? Thanks for sharing who you are and your lovely part of the country!
Thank you for being here Tammy!
Handwriting truly is an art-form. I’ve noticed that after reading your post I have been more careful with my handwritring!
In Indiana we are also doing away with cursive writing taught in school. What a shame, a new generation will not know how to sign their name… I used to love practicing writing my name. It was my signature, who I was, How would I make my N? What about the P? When I was getting married I had to practice my new last name signature and I was 23!! I have three teen age children and when they have to sign something, they act like it’s torture.. Ah well, Another art lost..
As with everything, we need to get them while they’re young!