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Stationery

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For Christmas one year, when I was 9 or 10, or maybe 11 or 12, my aunt and uncle gave me a packet of stationery. They always gave unique, interesting gifts, and I remember how that packet of heavy-weight ivory paper, embroidered on the edges with cornflower blue flowers, filled me with promise: empty paper, special paper. It had so much potential.

I wrote letters on that stationery: letters to my Grandma on St. Simon’s Island, letters home to my mom and dad from Girl Scout camp. I loved that stationery. My own smooth paper with envelopes to match. Each time I pulled it out and ran my hand across it, I delighted in its prettiness. Its existance, and that it belonged to me, both inspired and encouraged me to write. It gave me a reason to get out a pen and ink words on paper.

I still prefer to write in ink. My 1o minute writes would turn to blog posts much more quickly if I typed directly into the WordPress app on my desktop. But like vinyl records, I love the physical objects of paper and pen, my thoughts in ink, undeletable, scratched in my handwriting, on a page. Personal thoughts flow more easily with a pen in my hand.

I would love to have stationery again. I use cheap composition books for my free writes, which serve their purpose fine. I coudn’t afford expensive paper for writing practice; we’d go broke.

But when I want to send a card or a letter, I am always blocked by the paper I have to write on. I don’t want to write on an ugly piece of ordinary, bleached white printer paper. So I end up not sending notes, or if I do, the process makes me sad.

Sometimes we receive pretty notes from Brian’s grandma, handwritten in ink on stationery. They feel warm and alive, and her handwriting reminds me of her voice.

The special paper, decorated with her thoughts, fills me up.

For the month of April, I will publish a 10-minute free write each day. Minimal editing. No story. Just thoughts spilling onto the page. Trying to get back into the writing habit.

6 thoughts on “Stationery”

  2. Yes, pretty paper… I have collected so much over the years I’m afraid my house is a raging fire hazard… My problem is I hoard it. It’s too pretty, will the person receiving it appreciate it? Will the words be worthy of it, such that the letter will be saved? Or will it just be tossed into the trash without a thought?
    *sigh* I suppose I have no control over what happens to them once mailed. Maybe I can let go and just use them. It would make me happy, and I bet the recipients would at least get temporary joy, so that’s worth it. Thanks for the prompt! 😊

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  3. Andrea, Needing sensory stuff. I understand. I have forty plus years of journals – I’ve learned to buy the same brand/style spiral bound notebook in bulk so at least they’ll fit on the shelf more or less tidily. I began with a mixed style of journals, but now only buy a rough approximation of 9×6″. (my years of journals certainly add valuable information to my memoir writing). The styles have changed over the years, gone in and out of date, but the size remains the same.
    But what I’ve learned is that by writing by hand every morning, with my first cup of Irish Black Tea, my brain wakes up and allows me to focus. I’ve read that writing by hand activates a different part of the brain from keyboard writing.
    However, I’ve also written my longer letters on the keyboard for years and saved a copy, which go into the same memory file for memoir writing. I keep a packet of good paper, like a velum-ish, for the more important letters.
    I also keep a box of blank note cards with pretty covers for those times when I want to send a hand-written note. So. Buy a box of note cards and keep them on hand. So much more effective than having to go out and buy one by one. (special birthday cards I still buy one by one.)
    So there you are, my dear, all kinds of tools to keep you happy and writing, by hand, or feeling good when you fold nice paper out of the printer into an envelope.

    J.

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  5. I can relate to this, so much. I loved getting stationary as a gift, still do. I love the tactile quality of paper, the feeling of it when you run your fingers over your words. I’m lucky that I work in an area where I have lots of paper samples. I try not to fondle them out in the open. lol. I still write everything by hand too and then transfer onto my laptop. I could be so much more efficient.

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