Feb. 12, 2021 — Those were the days, eh, when we’d plan weeks in advance for a big night out for Valentine’s Day. Fingers crossed: Next year!

As with so many things, we’re thinking this year invites us to approach the lovey dovey holiday differently. What if we first give thanks for all the love we receive from sweeties both two-legged and four, then very consciously open our hearts a little wider to include a few more people whose day we can make simply by reaching out to say Thinking of You!

We’ve seen so many of you pick up the pace of your card sending over the past year — Spreading the Love Not the Virus! — that we sent a fun tote to acknowledge the most active Cardies among us. Those bags were so well-received that we thought, hmm, in the name of love, let’s offer one FREE to every Cardie who will …

Introduce Yourself to our larger community! Fun and easy to do, it involves devoting 10 minutes to telling your story on a nifty little form provided, attaching your favorite headshot. Your profile will then soon be proudly posted on the Meet Fellow Cardies pages of our site. So many good people there!

Cardie Mary Puett with her tote of honor. When her Cardie husband David received his tote, the man of few but fun words emailed us, “I just wanted to say thanks for my goody bag … here’s my wife, Mary … she’s already claimed it!” 😉

“Oh wow!” wrote Cardie Margaret Burke. “I just received the sweet tote bag! I teared up a bit as I opened the package because — right before I went to my mailbox — I’d been talking to a ‘cousin-in-law’ about her parents and how the isolation is so hard on the elderly (well, on us all, but especially on those who have a hard time getting out & about on the best of days/years).

“Thinking I’d up my card-sending game, I pulled out the hibernating bear card as well as the black-eyed Susan ‘just checking’ card to send them, as well as the XOXO card for my aunt. And all the way to my mailbox, playing in my head was the Beatles song, Eleanor Rigby, ‘All the lonely people …’

“So imagine how delighted I was to find a package to me there! It’s nice to be thought of … we all need some moments of delight these days!!! Receiving your package was a great example of how reaching out to people does make a difference in boosting spirits and it does matter (a lot!).” Yay, you’ll see Cardie Margaret Burke has made a point of introducing herself yesterday! :)

Wherever you’ll be and whatever you’ll do for fun and love this Valentine’s Day, may it feel good to know you’re part of a community of kindred spirits who lead from the heart just as you do. As a clever Cardie put it when she signed her tote thank you note, “Barb Penny, a proud spreader of LOVE, not the virus.” ❤️