You’d expect a PhD in Communications to be well-spoken, but Dr. Astrid Sheil is eloquence personified. When you open your mailbox and see Astrid’s handwriting gracing an envelope, you know you’re in for a literary treat. She’s so multifaceted that she served as inspiration for Passages birthday card 93768 shown above.
Our founder met Astrid nearly 20 years ago while Jodee was walking her dog along her home stretch of Miami Beach. Astrid was in town visiting her mother, who lived a few blocks up the coast. Striking six-foot blonde Astrid took one look at the beautiful black Lab that was Lucia, and promptly dropped to her knees. Astrid wanted to be gorgeous eyes-to-eyes with the sweet creature, which naturally endeared her to Jodee immediately.
The two quickly found they were kindred spirits – they both loved a good walk & talk; Astrid taught PR, and Jodee had previously owned a Chicago-based agency; they were the same age, and both had close relationships with their aging mothers. When the sweet creature that brought the two fast friends together died, Astrid’s condolence note read, “Lucia was an old soul in a dog’s body. There was something wonderful, magical, human-like about her. You gave her a good life and she, in turn, gave you unconditional love, silly joy, and companionship. I’m sending you a big hug of sympathy & love.”
Naturally, Jodee listens very attentively and reads notes and emails from Astrid at least twice – once for pleasure and another for potential card messages. :) And she’s not above planting seeds: When Astrid’s daughter was to be married several years ago, Jodee called the mother-of-the-bride and asked what wisdom she would share with her daughter, whose wedding she was helping to plan. Astrid being eloquent Astrid, didn’t skip a beat in saying,
“May you always put each other first … and treat each other with great tenderness.”
In 2014, Astrid planned a wedding of her own; she happily married Anne Scott-Putney, her equal in so many ways. It’s Cardthartic’s good fortune that Anne is as amazing with words as Astrid.
So much of what Astrid says is quotable, we still mine every note, email, text, and voicemail. The message in 93879 was taken verbatim from a voicemail Astrid left Jodee who was sitting in a dentist chair! A note she wrote Jodee recently is destined to be a Passages card, “Our friendship began as if in mid-sentence, and the conversation has just gone happily on and on.” Fortunately, we can look forward to many more card messages from Astrid.
Cards with Messages by Astrid
Cards Dedicated to Astrid
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