September 27, 2022 — If there’s a blessing to living in a hurricane state, it’s that you receive lots of heart-warming “Thinking of You!” messages this time of year.
Prior to battening down the hatches here on Miami Beach, yesterday in Cardie Yoga I saw the name and number of dear friend and Contributing Cardie Susan Lyon pop up on my ringer-offed phone. I smiled knowingly and later read the anticipated and much-appreciated voicemail transcript, “Just checking on you as I know there’s a storm barreling toward Florida again and am wondering what you’re going to be doing. I know you’ll be getting lots of these calls, so just keep us posted and know you’re in my thoughts. Ok, bye, love you!”
Feeling the love in Susan’s message, I went to the mailbox and, wow, there found three wonderful, totally-unrelated-to-weather cards from members of our Cardie Community. “Thinking of you!” each said in its own unique and affirming way.
On top was the one from Roxann Hassett, who you may remember proposed and then helped design our new Get Out The VOTE postcard, free to anyone who will help do just that. Tucked inside was a letter from the National Audubon Society saying, “A gift was made in honor of you and all your good work.” So thoughtful and gratifying, we’re flying high at Cardthartic!
Next was the bright orange envelope from the irrepressible Judy Cortner. She’d used this gorgeous stamp and, well, yes: 15 Thanks! stickers. 😆 Among other Judylike things, she said she was having so much fun sending the new Girls Just Wanna Have Fun! Passages card with “Message by Judy Cortner” on back. Judy enclosed a lovely pen & ink postcard by parenting expert and author LR Knost with this poem I think you’ll love as much as I did:
Life is Amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful, it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL.
After reading and breathing into that a time or two, I opened the last card, which was from Barbara Lazar. Cardies, Barb’s card took “Thinking of You” to a whole new level. Here in a week when one has to wonder if living on the albeit-gorgeous Florida coast is really such a good idea, Barb helped this mermaid answer in the affirmative with the amazing poem she sent by the brilliant Bernadette Noll:
I want to age like sea glass. Smoothed by tides, not broken. I want the currents of life to toss me around, shake me up and leave me feeling washed clean. I want my hard edges to soften as the years pass—made not weak but supple. I want to ride the waves, go with the flow, feel the impact of the surging tides rolling in and out.
When I am thrown against the shore and caught between the rocks and a hard place, I want to rest there until I can find the strength to do what is next. Not stuck—just waiting, pondering, feeling what it feels like to pause. And when I am ready, I will catch a wave and let it carry me along to the next place that I am supposed to be.
I want to be picked up on occasion by an unsuspected soul and carried along—just for the connection, just for the sake of appreciation and wonder. And with each encounter, new possibilities of collaboration are presented, and new ideas are born.
I want to age like sea glass so that when people see the old woman I’ll become, they’ll embrace all that I am. They’ll marvel at my exquisite nature, hold me gently in their hands and be awed by my well-earned patina. Neither flashy nor dull, just a perfect luster. And they’ll wonder, if just for a second, what it is exactly I am made of and how I got to this very here and now. And we’ll both feel lucky to be in that perfectly right place at that profoundly right time.
I want to age like sea glass. I want to enjoy the journey and let my preciousness be, not in spite of the impacts of life, but because of them.
This community never ceases to amaze me. While I’ve known (and will know) Susan forever, ❤️ I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Roxann or Barb. Judy and I were able to sit and gab only once, for a few short hours. We barely know each other, and yet these women are thoughtful and gracious enough to reach out and say “Thinking of You” in their own very pleasant ways. Their friends and families must sure appreciate them. I know I do! And I’m guessing these soul sisters now have a place in your hearts, too. Thanks for caring.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
September 27, 2022 — If there’s a blessing to living in a hurricane state, it’s that you receive lots of heart-warming “Thinking of You!” messages this time of year.
Prior to battening down the hatches here on Miami Beach, yesterday in Cardie Yoga I saw the name and number of dear friend and Contributing Cardie Susan Lyon pop up on my ringer-offed phone. I smiled knowingly and later read the anticipated and much-appreciated voicemail transcript, “Just checking on you as I know there’s a storm barreling toward Florida again and am wondering what you’re going to be doing. I know you’ll be getting lots of these calls, so just keep us posted and know you’re in my thoughts. Ok, bye, love you!”
Feeling the love in Susan’s message, I went to the mailbox and, wow, there found three wonderful, totally-unrelated-to-weather cards from members of our Cardie Community. “Thinking of you!” each said in its own unique and affirming way.
On top was the one from Roxann Hassett, who you may remember proposed and then helped design our new Get Out The VOTE postcard, free to anyone who will help do just that. Tucked inside was a letter from the National Audubon Society saying, “A gift was made in honor of you and all your good work.” So thoughtful and gratifying, we’re flying high at Cardthartic!
Next was the bright orange envelope from the irrepressible Judy Cortner. She’d used this gorgeous stamp and, well, yes: 15 Thanks! stickers. 😆 Among other Judylike things, she said she was having so much fun sending the new Girls Just Wanna Have Fun! Passages card with “Message by Judy Cortner” on back. Judy enclosed a lovely pen & ink postcard by parenting expert and author LR Knost with this poem I think you’ll love as much as I did:
Life is Amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful, it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL.
After reading and breathing into that a time or two, I opened the last card, which was from Barbara Lazar. Cardies, Barb’s card took “Thinking of You” to a whole new level. Here in a week when one has to wonder if living on the albeit-gorgeous Florida coast is really such a good idea, Barb helped this mermaid answer in the affirmative with the amazing poem she sent by the brilliant Bernadette Noll:
I want to age like sea glass. Smoothed by tides, not broken. I want the currents of life to toss me around, shake me up and leave me feeling washed clean. I want my hard edges to soften as the years pass—made not weak but supple. I want to ride the waves, go with the flow, feel the impact of the surging tides rolling in and out.
When I am thrown against the shore and caught between the rocks and a hard place, I want to rest there until I can find the strength to do what is next. Not stuck—just waiting, pondering, feeling what it feels like to pause. And when I am ready, I will catch a wave and let it carry me along to the next place that I am supposed to be.
I want to be picked up on occasion by an unsuspected soul and carried along—just for the connection, just for the sake of appreciation and wonder. And with each encounter, new possibilities of collaboration are presented, and new ideas are born.
I want to age like sea glass so that when people see the old woman I’ll become, they’ll embrace all that I am. They’ll marvel at my exquisite nature, hold me gently in their hands and be awed by my well-earned patina. Neither flashy nor dull, just a perfect luster. And they’ll wonder, if just for a second, what it is exactly I am made of and how I got to this very here and now. And we’ll both feel lucky to be in that perfectly right place at that profoundly right time.
I want to age like sea glass. I want to enjoy the journey and let my preciousness be, not in spite of the impacts of life, but because of them.
This community never ceases to amaze me. While I’ve known (and will know) Susan forever, ❤️ I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Roxann or Barb. Judy and I were able to sit and gab only once, for a few short hours. We barely know each other, and yet these women are thoughtful and gracious enough to reach out and say “Thinking of You” in their own very pleasant ways. Their friends and families must sure appreciate them. I know I do! And I’m guessing these soul sisters now have a place in your hearts, too. Thanks for caring.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
Both of these poems are profound and leave me with a sense of awe, that “ordinary” people can describe feelings so vividly…thank you L.R.Knost and Bernadette Noll!
Thank you for sharing these beautiful words! Your amazing cards and newsletters are always the perfect sentiment for sharing with friends & family.
Thanks for this great post! The sea glass poem is especially helpful in calming my mind as Hurricane Ian threatens so many Florida residents.
Stay safe, Jodee & Cardthartic. Thinking of you …
The poems helped my day along wonderfully! Even though Alabama is not in the path of THIS hurricane (Ian) we may be next. And with our precious eldest grandchild in college near Mobile, I worry. I need to stock up on “Thinking of You” cards!
i WANT to age like sea glass !!
i have been working on those
“hard edges” for a while now.
i do think they have softened
some, however they can still
use a little work.
i sure want to be that “old
woman” !!
i believe i will try to obtain
a piece of sea glass and add
it to a necklace i wear almost
everyday — it is my talisman !
a good reminder of the outcome
of being like a piece of sea glass.
i may also have to obtain a copy
of the sea glass poem, frame it
and hang it on my wall beside
other pieces of art that inspire
me to be a better “old woman”
i think 80 qualifies me as an
OLD WOMAN ♥
what a wonderful newsletter !!
I wish there was an easy way to see the front and inside of each card without so many clicks bach and forth. It takes way to long to view all of your lovely cards.
Hello Nancy,
If you view the cards on a computer/laptop, you are able to hover over the card and see the inside sentiment of the card without actually clicking on it. I love the convenience of using my phone for most things, but for card shopping here – this actually works much more easily (with less back and forth).
Thank you so very much for the special package – the pecans are long gone but the cards will all be sent to folks near and far. Shortly before Hannlis left this earth, I had bought her a small gift. It was a package of long ago “retro” post cards picturing scenes from Miami. Though it never got to her, a teacher in Miami now has them to share with the children in her class. Hopefully, she tells them a bit about how special Hannlis was!