Power of the Pen

How often do you get hand written letters in the mail?

When I was in junior high, we'd slip notes into one anothers lockers and pass crumpled slips of paper in science class. By the time I was 18, my family had moved over a dozen times, so I got used to writing letters to friends in the last town we'd left behind.

Years of moving from west to east and back again yielded boxes of letters from last year's best friends. Hand written, with lots of drawings on the envelopes, doodles in the margins and distinct lapses in time. Often it would take a few days to write a letter so moods and ink color could change from one paragraph to the next.

Not that you don't already know this, but thanks to e-mailing, texting and social networking, letters are far and few between. Further, we expect immediate satisfaction when contacting others. We hit send... then refresh and expect swift replies. Anyway... herein lies the point of this blog....

I'd sent an e-mail last Monday updating my alma mater's alum board on the success of the bake sale we'd had that weekend (see my previous post). So, I'd expected an e-mail back from the director with a note of thanks. Monday.... nothing. Tuesday... zip. Wednesday.... zilch. I was starting to get annoyed.

Then Thursday rolls around and after work, I check the mail. There's an envelope addressed to me from the director. Inside, a thick, creamy note card with the College's seal. AND a LOVELY noted inside thanking me for my efforts. Not just a "thanks".... but a long, thoughtful account of the role I'd played in the success of the event.

I welled up with joy. Seriously. It was WAY better than getting an e-mail.

It's SO rare that anyone (including me) takes the time to write. Getting that note (written in cursive even!), made me want to buy some fine stationary and pick up a pen and start writing to people again. I don't know if I'll doodle in the margins this time around, but I like the idea that years from now, the letter might end up in the bottom of a box of mementos, dog eared, and permanent.

-Catherine

I'm sensing a theme...

Okay, so I know this is supposed to be a photography blog dedicated to weddings and events and such, but I seem to post a lot of photos of food. So sue me! In reviewing the last years posts, we've done a ton of charity and fun raising events this year.... and so it was this weekend.

I'm on the alumni board of my college www.msmc.la.edu and we threw a fundraising bake sale on campus to help raise money to adopt a needy family for Christmas. It was the first bake sale we'd done, so we were a little nervous about what kind of response we'd get. I spent all day Saturday baking... peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, mint chocolate chocolate chip cookies AND... Mexican Wedding Cookies (that's sort of wedding related, right?). And I spent all Saturday night worrying about the sale on Sunday. Would anybody buy our cookies?

To my great relief.... it was a GREAT success! Along with generous donations from fellow alums, our table was overflowing with goodies... and a few apples and pears just to make us look a little healthy. In two hours of selling, we raised just over $300! (I was afraid we'd only get $40 or so). I'm so thrilled knowing that we've made some family's Christmas a little brighter.

Anyhoo... here's a photo I took of the Wedding Cookies.... basically, sugar, flour, vanilla and tons of pecans rolled in powdered sugar. YUM.

-Catherine