A Simpler Time

Just the other day I was leafing through some of my cookbooks to find a recipe for dinner when a folded lined sheet of paper fell out from between the pages. I opened it to discover my mother’s familiar handwriting. Years earlier, she’d sent me the lemon squares recipe, riddled with her abbreviated language, I had requested. It was in that moment that I realized how dated the paper looked. Not so much because it had yellowed with age, but that there was a time we as a society communicated primarily in longhand. Naturally, my mother had sent the recipe via snail mail, since e-mail was not even an option at the time.

It’s rare that I write anything in longhand anymore. I actually find it tedious. I can accomplish so much more in a lot less time by tapping on the keys of my computer, while spell check is my phantom overseer. But not only am I grateful for the timesaver in communicating, the Internet is a powerful tool in doing my research. Years ago, I often referred to my encyclopedia set to confirm information; either that or I would hop in the car to drive to the local library. Now, I simply toggle and the data that is at my fingertips is usually up to the minute, thanks to Wikipedia. (Whether it is always accurate is another story.)

Yet, upon discovery of that recipe written in my mom’s very familiar handwriting, I realize, too, that with progress comes loss. There is something charming about the scribbles and notations we once made on recipes and letters to each other; something that makes me believe it was a simpler time. With that in mind, I folded the yellowed sheet of paper and slipped it back between the pages of my cookbook, since it is so much more than just a recipe for lemon squares.