In today’s world, we type A LOT. Texts, emails, letters, lists, blogs, etc. Very little of what we do is handwritten. Making a note on your phone or sending a text are all very convenient and in some cases, make life efficient.
Recently, my sister in law was planning a 40th birthday party for my brother and asked for some photos of my siblings in our younger years. Thankfully, as much as I throw things away, I also save what I feel is important. While searching for photos, I came across a card my mom wrote me when I was on a retreat in high school. It gave me a quick laugh and a long cry, and I put it right back where I found it.
Fast forward to December 20, my sister’s then boyfriend called to tell me he was planning to propose to my sister that coming Saturday. Queue the tears, but also, the thought of what gift I could give them to acknowledge their engagement?
A quick brainstorm session thanks to my friends (Lafayette Moms Blog Team) and I had an idea …
My mom, prior to having four kids, you know, when free time existed, enjoyed ceramics. When she died, one of my favorite things I held on to were her hand-made Christmas ornaments. I hang them on the tree every year, and cry while doing so because I miss my mom most at Christmas time.
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She made a set of wedding bells, so I decided to give the ornament to my sister for an engagement gift but made it a bit extra special. Using the card I had just found while looking through old photos, I decided to have the back of the ornament engraved with “Love ya!” in my moms handwriting. I knew I couldn’t ship the ornament off to have this done so (again, thanks to the social media world), I brought it to Awardmaster based on the recommendation of many friends.
I may have been a little over the top stressing how important it was that the ornament not break during engraving. After all, the ornaments truly are priceless to me. They reassured me it would all be ok. It was better than ok. They created a piece for me that brought me to tears. (Clearly, I cry a lot.) The ornament and the handwriting combined created a keepsake that is truly irreplaceable.
In a world where texting is convenient, make sure you write or send a card every once and awhile. Handwriting can be a treasure that makes a moment extra special, or an ordinary piece, extraordinary.
