Soon, months of thinking about and planning a move from Lakewood to another county to be nearer my partner's job will be a reality, and the sorting and discarding of a lifetime of possessions will no longer be denied. For now, I have the luxury of approaching the task at my pace, but I know that will change.
As I take a preliminary peek into boxes and drawers that haven't been disturbed for years, something stands out that takes me to another time – handwriting.
I find greeting cards, letters from relatives and friends, notes of condolence, descriptions on the back of black and white photos (how wonderful is that?), old documents that are expired, even canceled checks. What amazes me is my instant recognition of whose hand penned each item. You could put just a snippet of each on a screen, together with random samples from complete strangers, and I could immediately recognize which belonged to my parents, my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and some longtime family acquaintances, all since deceased.
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Why is this important? Because I doubt that our children and grandchildren will successfully repeat an exercise like this 50 or so years from now. Will they have examples of our penmanship to consider, or will our legacy be entirely in the form of electronic messages? Think about it. Do they even know what our handwriting looks like today?
Many of us exclusively use online banking to pay bills, we extend and accept invitations through e-mail accounts, we conduct social interactions using Facebook or Skype, and we respond to requests for information by voice mail and texting. Some homes may not even have the basic implements of sending a personal note: matching paper and envelope, a decent quality pen, postage stamps.
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My suggestion? Write something in your own hand, sign your name, and tuck it away inside a favorite book, or some place where it can be discovered after you have forgotten that you wrote it. That will be a real gem for your children and grandchildren when they find it one day when you are no longer here.