I have a corkboard in my office of things I want to remember.  An art project from my son, a piece of fabric that I want, and notes from friends that I love and don’t see often enough.  Emily Post said it best:  “There is simply nothing as personal as a handwritten note. In a stack of bills and flyers, it's a treasure in a sealed packet, full of promise and potential. It is a visceral reminder of someone far away.”

The opportunity to connect ourselves to others in a world that’s digital is becoming more and more distant.  When is the last time you received a personal note in the mail, better yet, signed your name?  Checks are becoming nonexistent'; We sign contracts electronically. We tap our cards at the store. We keep lists on our phones. We send emails rather than write a note.  Our connections to one another are becoming less and less.  Notes; What a fabulous way to stay connected!  A note is a five minute way to make a lifetime connection. People don’t remember what your email said, they remember the letter they got in the mail on a day when life seemed so disengaged.  They remember they are not alone in a world that seems so isolating when we are stuck in our homes and community becomes further and further way.  They remember the feeling of getting an actual piece of mail and not something that wants their money. 

 I love to send a note.  I love to look into my heart and connect with another through pen and paper.  Its doesn’t have to be a fancy poem or a long letter about 10 things you did today.  It could be two sentences; Hi; someone is thinking of you, that can make someone’s day a little brighter.  Its not the amount of words or the grammar that matters. It’s the time you took to let someone know they are more than a tap, they are loved and someone remembers them.

 All this being said, its not just writing the note for me, it’s the stationary too. 😊  Who doesn’t love a good piece of stationary to write to the ones you love?  When I was in college, I would spend hours in the Hallmark store, reading card after card, looking for the words to send to my friends. Now that the words are in my head, finding the right stationary is key.  Whenever you’re in a store, look for the stationary. Pick up the notes.  Write the letter.  Your words are a look into who you are.  Your friends may remember your smile, BUT they will really remember that time they opened the mailbox and you had sent them a note.  You remembered them on a Monday, in August, when life seemed so monotonous, that feeling we take with us forever.

Stop by the shop sometime, say hey, and pickup a box of thank you notes. Your friends will Thank You!

- C.M. Summers