January 7, 2022 — For cardies who so love words and live with a true sense of gratitude, it was powerful to hear the U.S. Representatives reflecting yesterday, warmly expressing their thanks to the Capitol police — as well as each other — for making it safely out of the House Chambers that memorable day. I made a note of Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean’s final remark thinking, “What a lovely Passages card that would make.” She said to her colleagues, “Lucky me … to pass this way with you.”

Long before January 6th was “January 6th,” the day was a very sad one for me. I’ve shared this story here in the past and it feels right to share it again now, along with the new thank you card above and new boxed notes below. It’s this experience that has led me to wonder if people who don’t send notes expressing gratitude maybe have never known how powerful they can be to receive …

On January 6th, 2005, I returned home after spending the previous night in ER with my mother. I had found Mom on the floor of her kitchen, God only knows how long she had laid there after suffering a stroke. I had been allowed in the ambulance with her, and in ER for the 10 hours she was stuck on a gurney there through the night.

When Mom was finally moved to a room in the afternoon, I slipped home to shower and walk my poor dog and, on my way in, grabbed my mail. And there in the mailbox was this note from my mother.

My mom lived in the building next door, so she’d already thanked me profusely in person. And by phone. And email. But like so many mothers from whom we all inherited the loving cardie gene, when it came to a proper thank you, mine believed that such a sentiment was not adequately expressed until it was hand-written, stamped and mailed.

Mom was never able to speak again, but she did die very peacefully three weeks later. On the little desk in her kitchen, we’d found her open box of note cards and roll of stamps. Her pen was still where it had fallen with her. She must have dropped my note in the mailbox in time for it to be on its way that same day, then gone right back to her writing.

Over the years, many cardies have shared eerily similar mom-stories with me, agreeing that our mothers left us an amazing legacy … sure signs that what we cardies do truly matters. I missed Mom a lot yesterday, knowing we’d have been sitting side-by-side hanging on every word of those testimonials. I’ll never again be able to sit and talk books or clothes or social justice with her, or hear her 8:30 sharp phoned-in, “Good night!” Her quirky emails in which her entire grocery list would appear in the Subject line? Long gone. But that note, in her handwriting, with her little signature mouse … you can imagine how much it will forever mean to me.

Fellow cardies, of one thing I have no doubt: You have many people in your life who love you as much as my mom loved me. Be it in Cardthartic cards and notes, or others you have chosen with care, I hope your loved ones will long be able to re-read the messages you’ve written them about how very much they mean to you. As my mom would so often say, “Enjoy today!”

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative