Cursive writing and printing. A survival need?, page 1

Good point you've raised about your mother

My mother is in her 80s and still writes in the beautiful copper-plate style she's used all her life, to the point that others have remarked, 'Gee, your mother writes beautifully'.

She does. Don't know how she does it at her age. She's worked hard all her life and her hands are twice the size they used to be .. witness to all the work they've done.

There's a beautiful balance to her writing .. it's like reading music or looking at art. It's visually beautiful

When my father died last year, I received two or three long letters plus cards from his cousin, who is close to 90. Again, the writing was beautiful to see, yet she's in very poor health

Another thing I've noticed in the writing of the women above, is that they are able to reduce the size of their writing without it becoming at all distorted. For example, if the writers feel the need to squeeze in an extra paragraph in the final few inches of page remaining, the writing is much smaller, yet loses nothing .. same slant and flow, perfectly legible, soaring capitals, each letter a little work of art. Neither woman has ever used a computer

As to basic math .. when I was a small child, shop-keepers were behind the counter. There were very few supermarkets. All the 'reckoning' was done by the shop-assisant on a pad on the counter.

My mother could 'tally up' the total from her side of the counter .. which is to say, she was able to add-up the total amount owed by calculating upside down, based on the numbers written on the shop-keeper's notepad. And she could do it faster than the shop-keeper.

Naturally, she received compliments on her ability and no doubt this became a small pride on her part, which in turn motivated her to do better each time. Thus she kept her mind well exercised.

Unfortunately, I didn't keep my wits about me in the same way as my mother. I've become so numbed by the supermarket ritual that I accept the total they charge me and I've noticed (glad I finally noticed) that I've grown into the habit of simply accepting the change they drop in my hand without bothering to count it or check the receipt.

My daughter has stayed alert. Years ago, I used to tell her about Grandma's alertness and basic math ability and I encouraged my daughter to calculate the amount and to check her change and receipts.
She always does.

I should have remembered to give myself the same advice. After this thread, I hope I do begin doing so, because I realise now just how slack I've become.