Printing and Cursive

* I think it's time for me to invest in an iPad.  I do have a laptop ...but I do not trust the wifi connections at hotels. It is  hard to use it when I travel.  Blogging from my phone is HARD too...and,  I do have a few disabilities when blogging from my phone.  I'm not able to post photos and Google will not allow me to make comments when I read your blogs!!  There are a few of you that I can comment on your post and I'm trying hard to keep up.  Just want you all to know that I am visiting you each day.. We will be home on Saturday.  

Printing and Cursive!! 

I realized something shocking the other day.

Cursive has officially become a foreign language.

Not Spanish.
Not French.
Not even Latin.

Nope.

A simple handwritten recipe card from Grandma now looks like an ancient treasure map to half the younger generation.

I watched a teenager stare at cursive writing recently like they were trying to decode Egyptian hieroglyphics. Their eyes narrowed. Their forehead wrinkled. At one point I honestly thought they might call for technical support.

“Wait… what letter is THAT?”

Honey… that is an “S.” 

They could not read the graduation card I had given them.  

And suddenly I felt 147 years old.

There was a time when learning cursive was serious business. We practiced loops and swirls until our hands cramped. Teachers walked the aisles correcting our slant like tiny handwriting coaches preparing us for the Olympics of penmanship.

Capital Q’s alone could humble a whole classroom.

And heaven help you if your lowercase “g” looked funny.

Back then, cursive meant you were growing up. It felt fancy. Important. Mature. We signed our names with pride like we were approving million-dollar business deals in third grade.

Now?

Kids text faster than lightning but cannot read the word “banana” written in cursive.

Their generation can edit videos, build gaming worlds, and type 94 words a minute with two thumbs… but hand them a birthday card written in cursive and suddenly we are starring in National Treasure.

Honestly, it is kind of adorable.

But also a little sad.

Because cursive carried personality.

You could recognize someone’s handwriting instantly. Messy. Fancy. Tiny. Dramatic. Every curl and swoop carried emotion. A handwritten letter felt personal in a way typed words never quite do.

There was magic in opening a card and seeing familiar handwriting across the envelope.

Even grocery lists had character back then.

Now everything arrives in identical fonts looking like it came from a robot with excellent organizational skills.

And can we talk about signatures for a minute?

Some younger folks are out here creating signatures that look like they accidentally dropped a spaghetti noodle onto paper. Just one confused squiggle and a dot.

Meanwhile our generation was trained to make signatures look presidential.

If you signed your name with flair, you were somebody.

I still believe cursive deserves a comeback. Not because technology is bad, but because there is something beautiful about words written by hand. Something warm. Human. Imperfect.

A handwritten recipe from your mother.
A note tucked inside a Bible.
A love letter folded soft with age.
A signature on an old photograph.

Those things matter.

Cursive is more than handwriting.

It is memory written in ink.

And honestly, I may start randomly leaving cursive notes around just to keep younger people alert and mentally stimulated.

Nothing dangerous.

Just enough to make them wonder if they have discovered pirate clues hidden in the kitchen drawer.  

When I went to Business School.. I had to take a whole semester of penmanship....kids these days would flip out if they had to sit in class and perfect their penmanship.  

And what about signing checks??  Oops...I forgot!  Everything is now done on the net!  lol.. 😬😂🫢🤣🤓

Shug....