It was back in May of 2020 that we received a late-night email from Cardie Nancy Hawthorne. “I was in the midst of ordering your cards online earlier this evening, left the computer, husband sat down and proceeded to check his email,” she explained. “I was not finished and now I can’t find my way back. Is there a way to go back to my order, without having to start over?”
Regrettably, we had to reply, “Eeek. The order should still be in your cart, Nancy. If not, ugh, so sorry to say …” She responded, “Thanks. Guess I’ll start over tomorrow. Husband suggests that, next time I leave something unfinished, I put a note on the screen saying something like, ‘I’m not finished.’ It was a lesson for him … and for me.”
The next morning, our graphic designer Brandon sent an email that read like the same saga that Cardie Nancy had just described. “Wait!” we thought as we put two and two together. “Brandon’s last name is Hawthorne. The cardie with the waylaid order must have been Brandon’s amazing 87-year-old mother!” Reading further, from Brandon we learned the happy ending: “This morning, Mom woke up to a box of fresh donuts and a big ‘I’m sorry’ note from my father. At 97, he had braved our Covid-world to go out and get her donuts.”
Nancy graciously let us share her sweet story in the following week’s cardie newsletter. It’s clear how much Brandon admires and appreciates both his parents and their enduring love and companionship. (The man even has a tender In Gratitude section of his website dedicated to them and their hand in his life!) In fact, B asked his mom her thoughts on making a long and happy marriage.
When asked, “What has enabled you to keep the love and affection alive these 65 years?” she answered, “We will not fight. We’ve never, ever shouted at one another. (Though I think I did a lot of shouting at you kids. 😉) If we get really angry about something, we talk about it. We rarely criticize and, if we feel we must, we try to do it in a gentle way. And we’re polite with each other. For example, he will tell me he enjoyed the dinner I made and thank me for making it.”
Nancy was then asked to please “describe something that stands out in your memory as one of the most touching things Cal’s ever done for you.” Her immediate response, “One of the most touching things he’s done for me? Oh, there are too many to count!
“If pressed,” she said, “I’d have to say those six straight weeks of chemo for breast cancer decades ago now. Every weekday, Cal drove me to my treatment, sat and waited, and then (since I usually felt alright after), he’d take me off somewhere, like to lunch where I’d never been before. Or drive through strange-to-us neighborhoods or to a nearby town to explore. Just to give me something else to think about.” ❤️
Below you’ll see a couple of Nancy’s favorite Cardthartic cards. The sunflower carries a message that Brandon originally wrote to our founder Jodee and, when she wanted to publish it, the two decided they really wanted to honor B’s amazing sister Jill who lives near their parents and is so beautifully caring. And the curious kitty in the coffee cup, well, she’s Nancy’s grandkitty Nugget. 😍 Long live love and the redemptive power of donuts!
Cards Written by Nancy
Nancy’s Favorites
It was back in May of 2020 that we received a late-night email from Cardie Nancy Hawthorne. “I was in the midst of ordering your cards online earlier this evening, left the computer, husband sat down and proceeded to check his email,” she explained. “I was not finished and now I can’t find my way back. Is there a way to go back to my order, without having to start over?”
Regrettably, we had to reply, “Eeek. The order should still be in your cart, Nancy. If not, ugh, so sorry to say …” She responded, “Thanks. Guess I’ll start over tomorrow. Husband suggests that, next time I leave something unfinished, I put a note on the screen saying something like, ‘I’m not finished.’ It was a lesson for him … and for me.”
The next morning, our graphic designer Brandon sent an email that read like the same saga that Cardie Nancy had just described. “Wait!” we thought as we put two and two together. “Brandon’s last name is Hawthorne. The cardie with the waylaid order must have been Brandon’s amazing 87-year-old mother!” Reading further, from Brandon we learned the happy ending: “This morning, Mom woke up to a box of fresh donuts and a big ‘I’m sorry’ note from my father. At 97, he had braved our Covid-world to go out and get her donuts.”
Nancy graciously let us share her sweet story in the following week’s cardie newsletter. It’s clear how much Brandon admires and appreciates both his parents and their enduring love and companionship. (The man even has a tender In Gratitude section of his website dedicated to them and their hand in his life!) In fact, B asked his mom her thoughts on making a long and happy marriage.
When asked, “What has enabled you to keep the love and affection alive these 65 years?” she answered, “We will not fight. We’ve never, ever shouted at one another. (Though I think I did a lot of shouting at you kids. 😉) If we get really angry about something, we talk about it. We rarely criticize and, if we feel we must, we try to do it in a gentle way. And we’re polite with each other. For example, he will tell me he enjoyed the dinner I made and thank me for making it.”
Nancy was then asked to please “describe something that stands out in your memory as one of the most touching things Cal’s ever done for you.” Her immediate response, “One of the most touching things he’s done for me? Oh, there are too many to count!
“If pressed,” she said, “I’d have to say those six straight weeks of chemo for breast cancer decades ago now. Every weekday, Cal drove me to my treatment, sat and waited, and then (since I usually felt alright after), he’d take me off somewhere, like to lunch where I’d never been before. Or drive through strange-to-us neighborhoods or to a nearby town to explore. Just to give me something else to think about.” ❤️
Below you’ll see a couple of Nancy’s favorite Cardthartic cards. The sunflower carries a message that Brandon originally wrote to our founder Jodee and, when she wanted to publish it, the two decided they really wanted to honor B’s amazing sister Jill who lives near their parents and is so beautifully caring. And the curious kitty in the coffee cup, well, she’s Nancy’s grandkitty Nugget. 😍 Long live love and the redemptive power of donuts!
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