I guess I'm old fashioned

In this age of Facebook and Twitter most people don't bother to really keep up with anyone's birthday. Most people rely on those little notifications that let you know that your friend's birthday is coming up. People very rarely have to do more than write out the generic "Happy birthday" on their friend's wall and that's it. Unless it's a family member or a very close friend, most people wont even both with a text message let alone a phone call. All of the social niceties and etiquette seem to be falling away and long forgotten.

Maybe I'm alone in this thought, but I think there is something special about receiving snail mail. I know that I very rarely receive anything in the mail that I actually want. It's mostly bills, advertisements, and junk catalogs. But, occasionally, I'll get a card min the mail and they always bring a smile. I noticed this most recently right after I found out about the whole cancer debacle when someone sent me a card just with their general well wishes and letting me know they were there if I needed them. It was just a few days prior to my first procedure and I was terrified. When I received that card, it was just a nice reminder that no matter what, people are there for me and worried and they care. It was exactly what I needed.

Ever since then, I've made it a point to send cards more often. I've found that I really love to send out birthday cards for people. Most people don't ever actually expect to get one in the mail any more, except maybe from your mother or grandmother, and I think it's just a nice little touch to show people you care. Especially after planning a wedding when your head is filled with all of the proper ways to handle social situations so all family members are happy, I've noticed that I want to do my part to bring back all of these little social niceties. After sending out over 300 hand written thank you notes, I don't mind sending out the occasional thank you card when someone hosts a dinner party (or poker night). If I know a friend is going through a tough time, I'll send them a card or small gift to let them know I'm thinking of them. And after a wedding, I've realized it really is quite easy to send these little cards since I have so many people's addresses.

I don't know, people seem a bit surprised that someone as young as I am likes to follow such etiquette rules, but I really do like to do little things like that for people. I even have a planner where I write everything down and keep track of upcoming occasions in my friends and family members lives so I can be sure to acknowledge it. And since I don't have Facebook to keep me up to date with birthdays, this is my responsibility to take care of and keep updated. I think thank you cards and birthday cards and get well cards and such things should make a comeback. At the very least, I'm doing my part to assist the US Postal Service and card companies everywhere.