Today Is Monday

 I often struggle with writer’s block, letter writer’s block, that is. I love to send letters to my pen pals but sometimes I will write a letter, read it over and think... “This is so lame.” 😒 🙄  

I want my letter to be clever, funny, encouraging...in other words...a good letter. So what is a good pen pal to do? One never knows when or from where inspiration will strike! 

When the MurphyBros were little one of our favorite author/illustrators was Eric Carle. His Today is Monday book was a favorite! ☺️ It was my inspiration for a sort of diary letter. For a week I wrote a few sentences in a notebook starting with the line, “Today is...” I just wrote down whatever stuck in my mind about the day... something I noticed in nature, something that brought a smile to my face, the work I did, the Bible passage I’m meditating on, the books I read, the music I listened to and played on the piano and even what I ate for dinner! (Thanks for the idea, Eric!)  

I was also inspired by a game we used to play around the dinner table, “High/Low.” We would all go around the table and tell the others what our high point and low point of the day was. It was always interesting and got our dinner conversation going! Even the time when one of those Murphy Men, who shall remain nameless, proclaimed their low point was right then, participating in the game of High/Low. 🙄 Boys! 😉 I wrote down my high and my low from the day in my notebook, too. 

At the end of the week I wrote a calendar style letter with little illustrations added in for fun! It may not have been the most exciting letter but I am always amazed that when I start writing about one thing more thoughts come. 🤔 

So seize the day and go postal, my postal pals! Just remember to write it all down for inspiration later! 

XOXO, 

Mrs. Murphy 

“Music Is Love In Search Of A Word”

Greetings, postal pals! I bring you tidings of great joy!! The Murphy family piano has been tuned and repaired!! The house is alive with the sound of music again! 🥰 🎶 Ok, perhaps this news is not so amazing to you 😏 but I am extremely excited to have our piano in tip top shape!

The piano is an amazing instrument that has been proven to bring great benefits to those that play. I have read of many physical and mental improvements including the sharpening of fine motor skills and the improvement of hand-eye coordination. Other studies have shown that piano lessons for older adults have a significant impact on increased levels of human growth hormone, which slows the adverse effects of aging. Playing the piano is also proven to reduce anxiety, heart and respiratory rates, lower blood pressure and increase the immune response. Sign me up for all of these benefits! 🙋🏼‍♀️

Science also tells us that piano play boosts cognitive and intellectual abilities, which means it makes you smarter!! It has been purported that playing the piano improves memory...especially one’s verbal memory. 🤔 I’m forever searching for the perfect word...perhaps I need more practice?

During this strange time of the pandemic my mental health truly has been aided when I play the piano. According to the research I read, people who make music experience less anxiety, loneliness and depression. Playing the piano has also been shown to be a great way to relieve stress. That has definitely been my experience. 

For over 300 years the piano has been a staple of the home, bringing together families and friends with the power of music. One of my favorite Murphy Family memories is when we all gathered around the piano and sang my favorite hymn. 🥰 Aww...I really love those people...and the piano 🎹 

I thought I would write a thank you note to the piano tuner for making the music in my house beautiful once again! I also might send copies of some of my favorite hymns to some special hymn-appreciating penpals. 🎶📬

Won’t you join me in sending some musical mail this March?!

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy  

Snailmail...The Next Best Thing To Being There

 

February may have been letter month but March is full of all kinds of days and reasons to send some snailmail!! It may be a little ironic, but I thought I would send some snailmail in honor of Alexander Graham Bell, the father of the telephone.

Alexander was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 3, 1847. He, of course, is best known as the inventor of the telephone but he first became interested in the science of sound because he wanted to help deaf people. Both his mother and his wife were deaf. His experiments in sound eventually led to the ability to send the sound of a voice through a wire! 

It was a competitive time in the invention world and loads of other people were all working on the idea of the telephone. Alexander had to race to the patent office to be the first. On March 7, 1876 Alexander applied for and received the patent for the telephone. Three days later, March 10, 1876, Bell transmitted the first recognizable words over a telephone line. What the exact phrase was is hotly debated by historians. According to one popular story, while his assistant was working in another room, Mr. Bell spilled battery acid on his clothes and said, “Mr. Watson, come here. I need you.” Much to their surprise, the words carried over the telephone wire into the next room! 

Another important March day for Alexander was March 27, 1884, on that day the final coil of copper wire was stretched into place and the first phone call was made between New York and Boston.  The success of that first phone call opened the eyes of many to the idea that the telephone was more than a form of local communication – it could connect people across the country. I doubt even Alexander could have imagined what his telephone would be like in the year 2021!! 🤯 

Mr. Bell invented many other things but I was fascinated by an interesting bit of history that Mr. Murphy learned from Candice Millard’s biography of President James Garfield’s life and assassination, Destiny of the Republic. President Garfield was shot by crazed gunman, Charles Guiteau on July 2, 1881, but he did not die until September 19, 1881. The president’s doctors could not locate the bullet so Mr. Bell went on a frantic dash to invent something to help them. He ended up developing an early version of the metal detector! 

Alexander has been honored on a US postage stamp, as has his amazing invention. 

Phones definitely have connected us in amazing ways (thanks, Alec!), but I still really love a good letter. 🥰📬🐌 💌

So make a call and write a letter!!

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy

 “A letter is always better than a phone call. People write things in letters they would never say in person. They permit themselves to write down feelings and observations using emotional syntax far more intimate and powerful than speech will allow.” Alice Steinbach