The Pearista Challenge

A Pearista is a group of bloggers sponsored by Pear Tree Greetings that value the power of 

connecting through stationery.  As a Pearista, I recently accepted a Pen to Paper Challenge.

For the next four weeks, I will be writing at least one hand-written note and including with that note a blank note card for my recipient to write their own hand-written note to whomever they choose.  Pear Tree Greetings will be picking one Pearista post per week to win $50 towards Christmas Cards!

I will be blogging about each note I write including - who I wrote to, what the note was about, how I 

felt while writing, and if I added anything extra or special in with the note.  After the challenge, I 

will share with you the reactions I received from the four recipients and how they used their cards!

I used to write hand-written letters and notes all the time.  After we moved away from home, it was

much cheaper to stay in touch with my friends and with my husband when he deployed by dropping

a letter in the mail instead of picking up the phone and making a long distance or international call!

I have several shoe boxes FULL of letters, cards, and post cards collected over 20 years!  While

spring cleaning earlier this year, I found a lot of these boxes and ended up sitting in the middle of my kitchen floor reading old letters for hours!  It's amazing the things and people you forget about over the years!

My most cherished letters are the ones from my husband when he was gone to USMC boot camp and deployed for 6 months at a time aboard the USS WASP.  While in boot camp (1994), letters were the only way we could communicate.  I tried to write him at least one letter a day for 12 weeks...WOW!!!  I could give you a million excuses of why I "think" I'm too busy to write letters like that now, but I won't!  =)  The next wave of letters came during his first 6 month deployment aboard the USS WASP (1995).  Ship to shore phone calls were outrageously expensive, so once again our main form of communication were letters.  By his second deployment (1998),  we had invested in a computer so the only letters or cards he received were included in with care packages and I don't think he sent me any!  Of course, neither of us send each other letters anymore and I miss it!  Maybe it's time we both take a few minutes and write each other a letter!

Unfortunately since sending an email or text message is so much more convenient, hand-written 

correspondence is becoming a lost art!  I hope to be able to teach my little one at an early age how

special it is to send someone a letter or card in the mail.  This week The Mother Huddle actually

blogged about "that time of the day" when her kiddos need some down time, so they make cards!

It is a FABULOUS idea and I hope to start incorporating it into our weekly preschool activities!

So I'm off to work on my week 2 of the challenge and I'll be blogging about week 1 shortly!

When was the last time you wrote or received a hand-written letter?  Why not write one today?

Disclosure: I received 8 free note cards to participate in this challenge from Pear Tree Greetings. 

I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for doing so. 

The opinions I have expressed are 100% my own.