Oh, I recognized the envelope and laughed! I figured the odds of anyone else having sent something in a safety envelope that's probably older than my child were slight indeed.

Only because I can't find my mailing station area in moving boxes.

I have good stuff but sometimes the random envelope just happen.

I miss my physical address book. I mailed people all of the time. I flew a lot and liked using pen on paper with a physical address book. It was comforting to me.

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Beekaytee I read your post and I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. I am glad you found out you were so wanted and they tried so hard. I don't think anyone is ever too heal. One of the group therapies I did there was a woman in her mid 70s and my mom has finally decided to go to therapy and she just turned 80.

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Speaking of handwriting does anyone know of a good book or something to help improve handwriting? Mine has always been terrible and I hate it. I've seen books about decorative lettering or things like that but is there something to just help every day hand writing

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Beekaytee I read your post and I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. I am glad you found out you were so wanted and they tried so hard. I don't think anyone is ever too heal. One of the group therapies I did there was a woman in her mid 70s and my mom has finally decided to go to therapy and she just turned 80.

Thanks for the kind words, askye. I really am fine. Given all the internal work I've done over the years, these...many...revelations are falling under the category of 'interesting' rather than painful. They are really just opportunities to exercise my internal fortitude.

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Oh, and askye, I've worked with a number of older folks on regaining their handwriting skills after arthritis and atrophy have taken hold. If you search on 'handwriting worksheets' you will find hundreds of thousands of 'trace-along' exercises to reestablish good handwriting habits.

Contrary to the 'science' of graphology, my written language has changed SO many times. It's like those match the hairstyle to the decade quizzes.

So I regularly use the worksheets to 1) slow my writing down so I'm not so sloppy and 2) Reshape my letters to be more legible.

It's a lifelong issue for a left-hander! Especially one who is a hand-dragger vs. a crab claw/overhand writer.

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...left-hander...crab claw

Back in 3rd grade, when we started learning cursive writing, I was the only left-hander in the class. The teacher's only instruction to me was, "Well, just follow along as best you can." It was a very discouraging learning experience, and my handwriting has never been very good.

Then in 1998 I got a PalmPilot, and learned its specialized alphabet to use with its stylus. I got to where I was very quick and very accurate with that, but it took a toll on my pencil/pen handwriting from which I have never recovered.

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I remember a boy named Ben in my, I guess, kindergarten class who got shit for holding the pencil inbetween his first two fingers and guiding with his thumb, I think.

I remember thinking how mean it was of them to point it out and try to change it, because, I tried it, and it worked just fine! They probably weren't even particularly mean about it, but it stuck with me. Ben, I hope you've done you in this life and are having a fabulous time.

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Speaking of handwriting does anyone know of a good book or something to help improve handwriting? Mine has always been terrible and I hate it. I've seen books about decorative lettering or things like that but is there something to just help every day hand writing

If you search on 'handwriting worksheets' you will find hundreds of thousands of 'trace-along' exercises to reestablish good handwriting habits.

This is the one I got: link but a quick Google for "Cursive Handwriting Workbook for Adults" turned up about a jillion.

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"Well, just follow along as best you can."

The story of my life. I crochet because I couldn't get anyone to teach me to knit with anything but 'just do it backwards'.

I tried it, and it worked just fine!

I use that method to do non-dominant handwriting for cognitive exercising. It's remarkable how legible it is!

I describe it as 'sticks and balls', drawing the letter shapes rather than writing words. It always surprises me how it isn't even slower.

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I should start practicing handwriting again. I tried switching to cursive writing (because I have nice fountain pens and shimmery inks, including a Dracula one), but ended up going back to my, erm, idiosyncratic semi-printing.

I just had the termination conversation with my now ex-employee. It went as well as I could have hoped for, probably because he was in shock. Ugh, I didn't want things to come to this, but it is what it is. Next up, the meeting with my team to give them the news.

My boss, who is awesome, has told me that I WILL take an hour off after that to decompress, no don't argue this, Jillian.

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