Back to the Basics

Can you have a passion for pretty handwriting?  Because I think I do.  I have always had good handwriting, and have been complemented on the way that I write in print and cursive.  My grandparents could probably be deemed the best judges on handwriting, and even they told me that I have beautiful penmanship.  I also have some "fonts" that I used to create to address fun cards (birthdays, congratulations, etc.).  All of those years doodling during class definitely paid off in some way (I could totally multi-task and still listen to the lecture/take notes)!

However, lately I've noticed that my handwriting is becoming worse and worse and that I'm having a tough time making some letters look right ("r" has always been a real struggle for me), or keeping my handwriting neat when I am in a hurry to jot things down.  I finally decided it must be that as you get older your handwriting fades and your penmanship becomes harder to read.

However, one of the ladies I work with has given me hope, as she has taken my handwriting obsession to another level.  Laura has the prettiest handwriting of anyone's that I have ever seen.  I have complemented her on it several times, and often ask her to label things that are going to be seen by many.  Every time I tell her how nice her handwriting is, she tells me that it is because she practiced (or maybe it's that she still practices).  I thought that was kind of funny, but the more people I have talked to about their handwriting (could I be a bigger nerd?!), the more people tell me that they either practice or are constantly writing things out - all in an effort to maintain their handwriting.  

So today I took out a pen and paper and had a practice session.  It was a little tough for me to slow down my writing style so that I could actually practice the correct movement, but I did it.  I think I'll actually move

on to lined paper next, so that I can work on writing in a straight line while I'm at it.  

One day, I'd actually like to be able to write like this ->

I think that will probably mean some calligraphy classes are in the future, but how fun!