A - Z Challenge: Paper

Mmmm...I love paper!  There are so many different kinds of paper and so many different uses.  It's a truly awesome fabric. 

Obviously, I most enjoy the kind of paper that I can write on or read from.  Here I am  at the keyboard and monitor but my heart is back with the morning newspaper on the table.  Where I can hold the pages, fold the pages or sit down with a pen and write on those same pages.  I can carry it with me wherever I go.  I can give sections to others or I can cut pieces out and share them.

But paper has so many other applications.  I can wrap gifts in thin tissue or wrap meat in heavy butcher paper.  I can use freezer paper as a temporary fixer for appliques.  Paper is soft enough to make a wearable fabric yet strong enough to withstand the sewing process.  I can wipe up a child's tear  or mop a puddle on the kitchen floor.  There is furniture made of paper as well as the wall covering behind it. 

Artists use paper in another whole range of ways.  It can be folded into the most intricate of origami shapes.  Or be the foundation for a delicate watercolor.   Where would photographers be without paper to print their amazing and imaginative ways of looking at our world?  Children of all ages enjoy a chance to smear paint on paper with their hands. Masking tape can be a helpful tool if you do the big kind of painting. And  I almost forgot about coloring books which have their own way of encouraging creativity.

Paper boxes hold everything from rings to the contents of your closet.  We have sticky notes to remind us - and others - of chores to finish.  An envelope can bring money or a request for payment.  Greeting cards are created and sent to invite, thank, share good news or console. A paper calendar (or two), an address book  and a little notebook keep me well organized. 

I've worn paper shoes, paper hats and carried paper flowers.  I have used paper dishes at a picnic and thrown paper airplanes.  Paper dolls were a favorite pastime when I was a little girl.  We greet each with business cards and hold a cut closed with paper tape.  My groceries used to come home in paper bags and the kids' lunches went to school in smaller versions.

Paper use has changed over my lifetime but I doubt that it will disappear altogether as some used to predict.  I still have a pile of paper on my desk.  It still cascades through my mailbox.  And the bathroom cupboard hasn't seen much downsizing.  The shredder doesn't work as hard as it once did but that may say more about my retirement than my paper use. 

The new e-books are still not getting my attention although I can see their practical side.  But for me, practical doesn't always carry the day.  I like the feel of paper.  I like the smell of a new book.  And a stack of new books holds promise as well as immediate pleasure for the senses. Somehow I can't see computers eliminating paper from our lives.  If anything, we seem to be creating more uses for it.  Maybe the paper manufacturers creating new applications to make up for the lost revenue from printing on paper?

What do you think?