April 12, 2022 — Yesterday I mentioned to a new friend that I’d finally made it through the 16-plus entertaining hours of Bridgerton. Christina’s grin grew wide as she said, “My oldest and dearest friend and I watched the entire series together, she in Manhattan and me in the Berkshires. We’d text back and forth the whole time. So much fun.”

That’s one of the joys of friendship, eh? How the best ones are made ever better with time and intention. Contributing Cardie Carla Schmitt wrote the birthday message above to acknowledge the friends she’s enjoyed since her college days. On the card back you can see her dedication to The Gals of Bailey Third. “At Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, eight of us lived on the third floor of Bailey dorm,” Carla explained. “The bonds we formed in 1978 have lasted, holding tight and strong … we’ve gotten together for a long weekend once a year for each of the past 44. There’s a real comfort in a friendship that formed when we were 18!”

We have Contributing Cardie Nancy Kelly’s love of baking for friends to thank for the message on our Meanings of Life cupcakes card.

    In response to a Cardie Newsletter last fall in which we asked you to propose icons you’d like to see on new Meanings of Life designs, Nancy proposed, “Cupcakes … little bits of delight and deliciousness without the guilt of a whole slice of cake” and “Sprinkles … because they just make every baked good more cheerful and happy.”

Her stream-of-consciousness was so great that we had to do just a little bit of tweaking to come up with the final message you see above. Nancy explained, “When I bake, I usually give whatever I bake to friends and neighbors. Often for no reason other than I want to show care to someone near and dear. And almost everything has sprinkles … that is a given. Sprinkles make any baked good whimsical and joyful.”

When we sent a pdf of the proposed card to Nancy for her approval and a dedication before it went on press, she said, “I would love to dedicate it to all my friends who understand and celebrate my sprinkle philosophy!” 😉 And so it is.

And, hehe, in an email thanking us for the dozen samples she received, charming Nancy wrote, “I have already informed all my friends they will be getting this card and this card only for birthdays this year.”  

Contributing Cardie Sarah Ashley Posch submitted the message above, just as it is. As with all Sarah Ashley’s messages, she shared the fun backstory to this one. She explained, “My mother’s extended family was large and scattered, and she never knew any of these cousins. An old family letter and poem from an ‘Uncle Harvey’ sent me searching online for any details about him, which led me to his daughter. My first phone conversation with Nancy lasted almost two hours! She, in turn, led me to several other cousins I couldn’t help loving before I ever met them. My life is so much richer knowing each one, and I thought my feelings about this experience had the makings of a Cardthartic friendship card. I can already think of two or three people I’d send it to!”

And how fun is this?! Just as I was about to bring this story to a close, Contributing Cardie Teresa Bender forwarded an email from her lifelong friend Margaret Anderson in New Zealand. (You may remember the story on Margaret’s Nattering Knitters, the group that knits beautiful warm clothing for refugee children.) Teresa shared, “Growing up together in Scotland, every Sunday Margaret, her two sisters, and I walked 40 miles — over the hills to the ocean and back home again — chatting all along the way. That was 72 years ago now, and those were the days.” Or, as Contributing Cardie Carla might put it, those were the 41,472 hours, 2.5 million minutes, and 149.3 million seconds. 😆

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative