May 30, 2012
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Using a pen
My husband and I have a journal we share together, a marriage journal. It is used to record daily life, fights, gratitude, and mostly to keep a personal history of our marriage. How often we forget things like our fight about potato salad and how giddy we felt when we watched a stupid movie and then went for a bike ride. Those magical, minute moments define our marriage and we want to record every one.
That is the only time I use a pen. It sounds strange, but I never seem to need one other than that. Everything else is on a keyboard. Oh sure, I will sign a card I send and make a hand written to do list, but for the most part every single thing is on my keyboard.
Blogging, writing papers or reports, check writing and bill paying, texting, emails – all of these things I do far more often than pen and paper. I am more clumsy with a pen than I remember being, and it isn’t as natural feeling as I remember it being. My hand cramps if writing for more than a couple minutes, my handwriting is sloppier and I am slower than when I type.
I don’t know why this bothers me, but it does. I don’t want to forget how to write on paper. So I have resolved to do much more of it. I started writing letters to people (on paper) and putting them in a card to send it. (Snail mail even.) I left my sister a handwritten note when I was at her house without her rather than sending her a text. I am going to start another type of blog, on paper, like when it was called a personal journal. Though I may want to share it with my favorite xangans, I might scan it in and post it that way. I hope people can still read it!
Maybe this is a sign of getting old, missing the old way of doing things. But I am going to bring back a few things I have replaced. I am going to wear a watch again. (You know, a wrist band with a face that has a battery and you read hands to tell the time.) I am going to start reading a real book with real paper (no, I will never abandon my kindle, I am just going to do both now
) and using a bookmark with a nice saying on it to remind me to think happy thoughts. I have been riding my bike lately for short trips rather than driving my SUV around town. I think being on a bicycle reminds me of being a kid and brings out the nostalgia in me. Yesterday I rode it into town and bought a paper book and another journal with real paper so I can start “journaling” outside of our marriage journal. Who knows, maybe my handwriting will improve again.
But I will never, ever, go back to writing checks on paper. That’s just silly. Some things are for the better, nostalgia or not.
Comments (82)
How odd! I was thinking along this lines on Sunday while riding my bike lol really bikes are such a time machine. I do use a pen quite a lot (teacher) but I see kids having troubles with it lately, I ask for papers and reports by hand…I’m a mean teacher
I’ve recently started doing the same, I feel the exact same way. There are so many lost arts out there, personal hand-written things being one of them. I’m taking a lot of pride in the wedding invitations I’m making, and lots of pride in making all the decos DIY.
For a friend’s birthday last month, I sent her a hand-written letter with one of the dreamcatchers I made. She was excited to have my return address so she can start writting me letters, too. It’s so much more touching that way. I remember having pen pals as a kid and I still have those letters, opening them overwhelms me with nostalgia. I want to be able to do that ten or twenty years from now, with letters from people I know today.
i was just thinking about wearing a watch again the other day… i was out somewhere and one of my friends had on a watch (just like the one i have and haven’t worn in forever!) so it made me want to start wearing mine again… i still read paper books, don’t have a kindle or whatever else they’re called and i also still write paper checks, so i guess i’m a bit more old school in that respect
Welcome to the world of the retro! It’s fun here and there are cookies in the back.
i always try and keep paper and pen nearby – both for writing/sketching – (playing tic tac toe with my son) keeps certain areas of the brain active – now if i could only find ways to keep the other 99.99% active i might be on to something…
If you think of it, pencils are exactly what the cave men used to write on the walls of their caves, except that pencils are mass produced and the charcoal has a little wooden casing.
My most treasured possessions, along with photographs, are the hard my copy journals I’ve kept from age 11 until now! I think it’s great that y’all keep a marriage journal. =) Sweet idea, awwwwwwwwwwwww.
That sounds cool. Yes, a lot of things are going extinct in the age of the internet and all the iCrap. Good for you.
@xXxlovelylollipop - They ARE time machines! Good for you for making your kids use pen and paper. That is better in so many ways. I know understanding and working with technology is important (that is what my husband teaches at school!) but I believe pen and paper is equally so. I am forgetting how to spell because I am lazy and have spell check. Simple math is also leaving my memory because I use excel. It’s crazy what I am losing!
@specialxplaces - Good for you for the DIY! It does instill much more pride, doesn’t it? I had a pen pal, too. She was from Chile, and I treasured those letters. *sigh*
@Peridot21 - I am going to go buy one this week, I don’t even own one except the Garmin Forerunner I use to track mileage and speed (GPS) when I am running and hiking. That’s definitely not the same.
@Shadowrunner81 - Thank you! I will have one of those cookies!
@xplorrn - Hahaha, I agree. I hope it will help turn some of my brain back on…
@PrisonerxOfxLove - Good point, I hadn’t even thought of pencils…
@AncoraImparo - Wow! You have journals from that far back? I have some my daughters used when they were that age, but none of my own. I can’t even remember being that age, really. I may be able to if I had kept journals!
@Unstoppable_Inner_Strength - Hehe, thanks!
@BoulderChristina - let me know if it’s the kinky parts…
@xplorrn - That part has never blinked out!
Marriage journal! I love that idea… that’s awesome that you guys keep one. I’ll have to keep that in mind for… next time lol.
figured as much… but was playing the subtle card…
@BoulderChristina - definitely hold on to your kiddos writing – they might like to see that someday! It is NUTS to go back and read my tween thoughts (and dreams), so… I don’t. lol.
They are locked away in a box in the top of my closet. Every few years I pull them out. Major blast from crazy past. giggle. I could look up the date of my first orgasm and my afterthoughts. Or the “why I think I’m bisexual” list – arguments for and against. Yes girl. All there.
@AncoraImparo - I kept journals from a young age too, but was too embaressed to read back on them after I was done with them and threw them out =( Wish I hadn’t now.
@BoulderChristina - It does! My last penpal (who I lost contact with) was actually someone I met on xanga when I was like, 12. He lives in Texas. My ex-boyfriend was uncomfortable with me keeping them though, because they turned into love letters eventually, so I had to throw them away.
@specialxplaces - Oh nooooo!! Tragic!! I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my writing. But I have to agree…completely embarrassing. That’s really neat that you had a xanga pen pal. I had one too (not from xanga) – I wish we had kept in touch.
@AncoraImparo - It really was =( The one I have now is the first I haven’t thrown away, and I think I’ll start keeping them from now on. It’ll be neat to see the collection over the years =) Pen pals are awesome! I miss having one! I want to search for a new one.
What a coincidence! I wear a watch, and read paper books (and kindle books too!) and write handwritten letters to people! lol
I do love your marriage journal though. I’m SO copying that. I LOVE that idea. I have a book, like a journal that I handwrite funny things the kids say and do or just a general update about the kids in. I’ve had it probably since Alex was 6 or so, and he’ll be 12 in august. I never thought to do one with Steven. Thanks for the great idea.
I know just what you mean. I went out of my way to get a really nice paper journal only to find that I am no longer very comfortable writing on paper. I write in it only every few months. Because the paper is so nice (homemade-style pulpy kind) I feel a bit formal writing in it and don’t like to get things wrong. I’ll see if I can pull it out tonight and fill it with some more thoughts.
a marriage journal sounds like such a cute idea!
and don’t worry, I don’t think you’ll forget how to use a pen!
lol
it’s sad that some of the schools around here no longer teach penmanship and it’s quite obvious when I write on the white board in cursive and 75% of the kids have no clue what I’ve written
@bethro78 - haha, go ahead, it’s done wonders for us! There are times it’s called “The Bitch Book” because there are pages and pages of squabbling, and times it’s the “Sap Book” because it’s full of sticky sweetness, but it’s all ours!
It really has helped to see how far we have come though, I am glad we do it. I wish I had thought to do it when I had little kids, your book will be priceless to you someday!
@lucylwrites - Exactly! When I write some words out I have to double check the spelling because it doesn’t look or feel the same!
@raspberryjade - Haha, thanks! And you would be surprised…
@godfatherofgreenbay - They don’t teach it anymore? That is truly a tragedy.
see, I like you, and how you think.
I use a pen for a journal, but not for much else. I’m going to start hand-writing letters, too. good idea, Christina. : )
@plantinthewindow - Any time! I am full of it, er, I mean them!
@plantinthewindow - And I like you, too
It’s weird to think the next generation is not even going to know how to write in cursive.
Perhaps you need to study…
http://palmermethod.com/
@BoulderChristina - ha! I think you’re pretty neat.
I still have my cuneiform tablet. The clay is dried out though.
Jesus, you’re a TOP BLOP. It’s about time. How did you do it?
@ShimmerBodyCream - Their internet stalking skills will be unmatched though.
@vexations -Perhaps I should?
@we_deny_everything - I am?? Wow! Xanga must have listed their ban on me? No wonder I have footprints from the Russian Federation. Maybe I will finally get a love letter of my own!!
@we_deny_everything - You are right – number 5! Wow! Maybe it was because BoulderSalem endorsed me? That dog is the best dog ever.
I’m in constant touch with my soul every day. Thing is, about the soul talking to you is, that it does it without warning. So whatever wisdom it shoots your way, if you don’t have paper and pen nearby, you lose the thought.
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@catstemplar2 - I always wake up thinking, something like, “Romney To Undergo Gender Reassignment Surgery To Connect With Women.” You gotta write it down or lose it.
@BoulderChristina - YOU GOT A NEW GIRLFRIEND!
That is the sweetest, coolest thing I’ve ever heard, a marriage journal! I’ve never heard of anything like that, although my role-models for successful marriages are slim pickings.
I’ve started writing my fiction in a notebook recently. I was writing everything on the computer, but the problem with that is that sometimes I am easily distracted, and end up going on Xanga/Facebook/etc/etc/etc and not really writing. So I started a routine in which I stop at a Starbucks on Friday evenings and write for an hour. Since I’m coming right from work, I don’t have my laptop (though I could lug it with me to work if I really wanted to), and have no other choice but to write in a notebook. Surprisingly, this is working well for me, to the point where I just bought a new notebook this weekend because I’ve almost filled up the current one.
The major plus side to typing – for me anyway – is that I’m much faster at it. I learned to type in middle-school and I am now very fast and don’t look at the keyboard at all. Also, my hands don’t get tired as fast.
they teach them basic printing and that’s it. No cursive at all
Lovely blog and an interesting one considering I just started doing the same thing myself. I love cards and recently spent over an hour at Wal-Mart selecting ones to send to Sisters and Dad & his wife, as well as the ‘count on my one hand’ friends. I thought my sister was going to faint when she got my last letter. Written by hand none the less. LOL… Some things should never go out of style and yes, I still write checks for my rent and a couple of other things. I’ve not gone whole hog yet. LOL…
I’m back to reading real books as well. But my Kindle goes with me when I have to be out for any length of time.
I do that, hand write. working on a concrete poem…I go through allot of paper more so for doodling as I draw…basic or whuzzthat? but ahhhh I also dispose ofa lot of paper- I don’t think it’s any more valued on paper or in e print.
I suppose I missed my calling and should’ve been a physician for I cannot read my writing and neither can anyone else. Yes, I made a C in Penmanship.
Fantastic idea!
I have a xanga pen pal and, when I sat down to write her first letter, my hand cramping was really annoying and that’s when I realized I needed to start writing more. I used to love writing on paper and I found that love again.
Going back to that, the old watch, the riding the bike, it’s all awesome. go you!
That is really a wonderful idea
I still write out grocery lists on paper and such so using a pen isn’t strange for me…yet.
Before I learned how to use a computer (from one of those dummy books) I actually wrote my stories out in longhand, then typed them on an old fashioned typewriter. Now that’s something I won’t go back to!
Riding a bike is also good for your health…and it doesn’t pollute the planet. I saw a non-motorized push mower in Lowe’s today. Almost bought it…maybe I still will.
Would you believe I kinda miss radio shows? (I’m a geezer.) In radio shows, as a kid I imagined what they looked like, scenery, too. Scary shows were more scary. I was happy when we got a TV, and then disappointed at how some of my heroes looked.
Please excise the blather.
@catstemplar2 - So many thoughts have been lost to me!
@presica20 - Dear Blessing,
How I have waited for your note! I watched in envy as you wrote to others, secretly wishing it were me. Thank you for finally choosing me after all of the blocks other people gave you. I knew you would see the light.Love,BoulderChristina
@we_deny_everything - Back off, she’s mine!
@leaflesstree - That’s brilliant, taking time away from the home and computer to do your writing. I may add that to my list. About the marriage journal.. thanks for your kind words. It came to life because we couldn’t remember who said what when we were arguing, then it evolved away from the Bitch Book
@godfatherofgreenbay - That makes me sick to my stomach.
@MzSilver - I love cards, I think I love sending them as much as receiving them. I can waste hours away, too.
Our mortgage is direct withdrawal. I don’t think I would do that if I were paying rent. So we are even
@starmanjones - Probably not valued more, you are right. But I am enjoying doing it again, so I value it more for now
@Kellsbella - What are you saying? You told me you WERE a doctor when you asked me to undress?
@Megabyyte - Haha, thanks! Oh a Xanga pen pal, that is ambitious! Maybe I will evolve into that, but first I need to make it legible again!
@firetyger - Just wait! Before you know it you will go to a website to do your groc list and pre-order it and pull up to the store to buy it for only an additional $5 and then you will forget how to write, too!
@dsullivan - I agree! I read more books than watch movies (VCR didn’t come until I was 10 or so) and the stories were so much scarier than the movies! I am an old geezer, too.
@BoulderChristina - Oh, I was just being silly. Now take this Purple Drank and be a good little kitty for Dr. Kellsdaire.
Wow this is one of the most popular blogs on Xanga! Everybody is here! lol. I think there are a lot of people out there who identify with keeping a journal.
@Shadowrunner81 - I think you’re right, so far only one person has said it’s all the same!
@BoulderChristina - :)
@Precious, precious … you are just all over … well, i so envy your energy gal…. riding the bike sounds kinda sexy to me.. with your hair blowing away from the wind.. hehehe… enjoy your weekend. It’s a long one here…
i still write checks to pay the bills.
i send cards to people (usually ones that are photos of mine, but i have a stack of cards that i find at the book store or at papyrus that i will send) and write a quick note. even if we email or text, i will still send a card. i like the feel of something in my hand that someone took the time to pick out just for me and to see a hand written note. to know their hands held that card and that some of their dna is on it when they licked the envelope.
I always prefer all the special keepsakes I do in the traditional way. I want the physical feel of things; writing checks and everything though… i’m not sure about yet.
@BoulderChristina - Pens used to be sticks dipped into ink. Now pens are mass produced sticks with portable ink. The keyboard and software are definite upgrades.
A marriage journal is a very cool idea. I’ve been writing more in an old fashioned journal lately than blogging. It’s a bit more therapeutic for me than blogging because I don’t have to worry about comments.
@MissNzisa - Hi MissNzisa! Haha, it is much sexier when you don’t think about the sweaty butt and bugs stuck to my face!
@buddy71 - I agree with all of your points, minus the checks! It is so much nicer to know that someone thought of you long enough to sit down and write something physically and send it. I still have a box of old cards, I can’t seem to throw them out!
@kokoxu - I agree, except I refuse to write checks!
@PrisonerxOfxLove - Haha, I can see your point there
@ViolettEnigma - It is therapeutic, isn’t it? And you can pour your heart out and not fear who will think what of you, etc. I do love a real journal.
I have written in the past about using the pen and reading a book, held in my hands, and not on kindle. You have written this post so much more explicitly than I ever could. Problem with me, I use the pen a lot. I send snail mails, and I use a fountain pen always. In the store when I write a check, the clerks always look at it with fascination. Even older folks. I hope I never ever give up that habit.
Beautiful post Cricket.