Musing on cards and the sending thereof

[gnomi]

mabfan and I have become regular birthday card senders. So the idea of buying and sending cards has become kind of second-nature for me. And non-birthday cards, while not sent as often, are also somewhat common for us (anniversary, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc. cards). But yesterday, I prepared two non-birthday cards that are sort of peculiar, and I'm still turning them over in my head.

First, I sent a condolence card to my former boss, whose wife passed away a couple of weeks ago. mabfan found the obituary in one of the local Brookline papers, and immediately I knew I wanted to send a card. Which is sort of surprising, as while my former boss and I parted on cordial terms, we had never had a smooth working relationship. So the instinct that said I had to send a card sort of surprised me.

The second odd card that I sent was a congratulations card for the birth of a baby to a woman I have never met. Julie Kramer had a baby boy last week, and since I have been a regular listener to 'FNX since the mid-90s, I wanted to let Julie know that her listeners wish her well and congratulations. (She's on leave until mid-July but will be returning to the air thereafter.)

I don't regret sending either card. But the drive to send them is what is staying with me -- the question of why I felt it important to send them.

Comments

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i didn't even know julie was out having a kid! i wondered why other people were doing the leftover lunch.... i think it's really sweet that you sent her a card.

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

I was very pleasantly surprised to receive a birthday card from you and mabfan last month. Thank you.

[tinnean.livejournal.com]

When I worked for Quest, I sent a thank you card to the ladies who handled our account at Wachovia. They were my contacts when checks went missing.

The man from whom I ordered bingo supplies for my church was having a really miserable day, and I bought a card to commisserate with him, but he passed away before I could mail it. :-(

I don't do more than birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays now.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

It's a natural (and nice) impulse to want people to know you're thinking about them. And, we in the stationery industry fully approve... :-)