End of an era?

In my defense, let me explain that my children have always written thank you notes. Unfortunately, it's always been on lined notebook paper. . .

I was sitting at the computer the other day when Hank, also known as the surly one, walked in and asked, "What's this?"

In his hand was a stack of fine stationary embossed with his name. Now, I knew good and well at that moment that this could only be something that my mother, a genteel Southern woman of good taste and decorum could have sent. I knew that it must've come in her Christmas care package, and I knew that when wrapping paper had been flying the morning of the 25th, I somehow had missed noticing this thoughtful gift.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

"It was in the box with the check that Mama Jane sent," he replied. He repeated his initial question.

"It's stationary," I said. After a pregnant pause, it occurred to me that he needed a more concise definition. Clearly, the lad understood little about the history and uses of stationary, so I attempted to explain these things with the purpose of making the connection between it and good manners.

"Why would anyone want stationary, " he reacted dead-seriously, "when there's e-mail?"

He continued to look at me with incredulity, so I added, "And you could probably expect not to receive any more checks from Mama Jane if you forget to send her a thank you note written on this stationary."

Suffice to say, he now understood.

Feeling very enlightened about the lack of schema that Hank possessed on the topic of letter writing, I knew that his younger brother, who is thankfully more affectionate but less astute about worldly things, probably hadn't given a second thought about the embossed stationary that he surely had also received.

The family was in the car on our way out to eat when I brought it up. "Ted, did you receive any stationary from Mama Jane for Christmas?" I asked.

"What's stationary?" he replied. That question prompted me to repeat much of what I had explained earlier to Hank.

When I was done with my lecture he seemed to ponder for a moment before responding. "I thought all of that paper was to make the present feel heavier so I wouldn't know it was a check. You know that people put rocks in presents sometimes."

I heaved a heavy sigh. "Yes, but not if they are mailing the gifts, dear. Nobody wants to pay postage to send rocks!"

A mother's guilt: I can't decide whether it's the "times they are a changin'"or I've just bonked on that one!