May 23, 2023 — To us within Cardthartic, it’s interesting as well as gratifying to see how more and more Cardies are actively supporting their friends and family members in grieving their losses. Just five years ago, a “grief support” card category did not exist; now we have more than a dozen designs that serve their loving purpose. We have Contributing Cardie Gail Walker to thank for proposing we fill that need. Back in 2019, Gail wrote to us, “I’m very familiar with grief, so I try to reach out to others going through it. We need to support each other on this road that is so difficult to walk. Society tells us that we should put a time limit on our grief,” Gail pointed out, “but, in reality, grieving never really ends because love doesn’t.” Her tender message became our first grief support design 93887.
Cardie Amy Beamer Murray unknowingly reinforced Gail’s point by writing to us, “One of my favorite designs is the Meanings of Life Cardinal. Before my dad passed away, I had never heard the story of how cardinals represent our loved ones who have passed. The winter after my dad died, my backyard feeders were polluted with cardinals — and my sister told me the story. Ever since then, when someone loses a loved one, I send the Cardinal card about three months later as part of what I call ‘after care.’ After the funeral has long since passed, and the phone calls are fewer and farther between, and there hasn’t been a sign of a floral arrangement or casserole in weeks — but the burden of grief is still so heavy that you can physically feel it — that’s when I send the cardinal card.”
Amy’s message inspired us to create this second Meanings of Life Cardinal designed to make her soothing point. And, sure enough, three months after our beloved Cardie Oma Hannlis passed, from Amy I received a beautiful tea towel featuring a lovely little cardinal, along with one of her simply powerful notes.
May 15th, 2023, was the first anniversary of Hannlis being with us in spirit only. I don’t know if Contributing Cardie Paige Baker was actually aware of that, or was just being her compassionate clairvoyant self, when she emailed me, “Every once in a while I go back and read the older Cardie Newsletters. I am sure you put them there with this in mind, but Hannlis lives again when I read about her. 😊”
Beyond being so touching, I sense that from Paige’s sweet message comes a great lesson on knowing what to pen in the grief support cards we send. I love that, rather than focusing on the loss, Paige’s focus was on Hannlis’s legacy. Perfect. Uplifting. Endearing.
Contributing Cardie Sarah Ashley Posch kept that same focus, too, in a grief support note she sent me. Of course it was a Sarah Ashley message that graces the condolence card dedicated to Hannlis. “I started to write that you must miss your dear friend,” she began, “but ‘friend’ is such a small word. Her life, her being, was anything but small. Some of us are blessed to have one or more of our own version of Hannlis — those people who always seem to reflect the best in us, people who fill the room (and our lives) just by walking in, people who create joy out of the most ordinary moments and grab us in to be part of it. When they are gone, a part of us is gone … and yet, our hearts are full.
“Like Hannlis,” Sarah Ashley shared, “I too have watched the sky, the clouds especially, and felt my loved ones there. So far away, so close to heaven. I’ve stood under morning twilight stars and felt their blessings being whispered down on me.”
How true it is, if we can somehow lovingly convey it: “It will take time, but one day you’ll find the empty space filled with your best and most beautiful memories.” Inspired by the amazing muse that is Paige, we’ve created an anthology of Hannlis stories for you. Enjoy.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
May 23, 2023 — To us within Cardthartic, it’s interesting as well as gratifying to see how more and more Cardies are actively supporting their friends and family members in grieving their losses. Just five years ago, a “grief support” card category did not exist; now we have more than a dozen designs that serve their loving purpose.
We have Contributing Cardie Gail Walker to thank for proposing we fill that need. Back in 2019, Gail wrote to us, “I’m very familiar with grief, so I try to reach out to others going through it. We need to support each other on this road that is so difficult to walk. Society tells us that we should put a time limit on our grief,” Gail pointed out, “but, in reality, grieving never really ends because love doesn’t.” Her tender message became our first grief support design 93887.
Cardie Amy Beamer Murray unknowingly reinforced Gail’s point by writing to us, “One of my favorite designs is the Meanings of Life Cardinal. Before my dad passed away, I had never heard the story of how cardinals represent our loved ones who have passed. The winter after my dad died, my backyard feeders were polluted with cardinals — and my sister told me the story. Ever since then, when someone loses a loved one, I send the Cardinal card about three months later as part of what I call ‘after care.’ After the funeral has long since passed, and the phone calls are fewer and farther between, and there hasn’t been a sign of a floral arrangement or casserole in weeks — but the burden of grief is still so heavy that you can physically feel it — that’s when I send the cardinal card.”
Amy’s message inspired us to create this second Meanings of Life Cardinal designed to make her soothing point. And, sure enough, three months after our beloved Cardie Oma Hannlis passed, from Amy I received a beautiful tea towel featuring a lovely little cardinal, along with one of her simply powerful notes.
May 15th, 2023, was the first anniversary of Hannlis being with us in spirit only. I don’t know if Contributing Cardie Paige Baker was actually aware of that, or was just being her compassionate clairvoyant self, when she emailed me, “Every once in a while I go back and read the older Cardie Newsletters. I am sure you put them there with this in mind, but Hannlis lives again when I read about her. 😊”
Beyond being so touching, I sense that from Paige’s sweet message comes a great lesson on knowing what to pen in the grief support cards we send. I love that, rather than focusing on the loss, Paige’s focus was on Hannlis’s legacy. Perfect. Uplifting. Endearing.
Contributing Cardie Sarah Ashley Posch kept that same focus, too, in a grief support note she sent me. Of course it was a Sarah Ashley message that graces the condolence card dedicated to Hannlis. “I started to write that you must miss your dear friend,” she began, “but ‘friend’ is such a small word. Her life, her being, was anything but small. Some of us are blessed to have one or more of our own version of Hannlis — those people who always seem to reflect the best in us, people who fill the room (and our lives) just by walking in, people who create joy out of the most ordinary moments and grab us in to be part of it. When they are gone, a part of us is gone … and yet, our hearts are full.
“Like Hannlis,” Sarah Ashley shared, “I too have watched the sky, the clouds especially, and felt my loved ones there. So far away, so close to heaven. I’ve stood under morning twilight stars and felt their blessings being whispered down on me.”
How true it is, if we can somehow lovingly convey it: “It will take time, but one day you’ll find the empty space filled with your best and most beautiful memories.” Inspired by the amazing muse that is Paige, we’ve created an anthology of Hannlis stories for you. Enjoy.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
OH BABY !!
i REMEMBER when memorial day
was called decoration day.
i believe i like it decoration day better ?!
What I love most about cardthartic is you have the perfect card for ALL occasions. When I found my cockatiel, Mondale, in the bottom of the cage I tried to do CPR on her because the pain was so unbearable. I couldn’t accept the loss. Many animal lovers understand that pets are a HUGE part of your family & loved ones. cardthartic honors the emotions of grief for all of those that we love by having choices under ‘GRIEF SUPPORT’ as well as ‘PET CONDOLENCE’. Love is love. Grief is grief. THANK YOU cardthartic for honoring all emotions.
On Memorial Day, Veterans Day and all of the days of the year THANK YOU to those who have died or served in service to our country.
I couldn’t believe it when I opened the Cardthartic newsletter – Legacy vs Loss because four years ago today my husband, Ward, passed away and I am one who believes that it is appropriate to grieve because “where there is deep grief there was great love”; “grief is the last act of love we have to give to those we loved” and so many of your cards honour that feeling. When we scattered Ward’s ashes near our mountain cottage a dragonfly appeared shortly after in my car and to me that was a sign from him. I have the Cardthartic dragonfly magnet on my refrigerator door with the words from the card “May your heart be lifted by dragonfly wings ” and today it will be as I enjoy the many beautiful dragonfly gifts from family and friends in his memory. And to quote from a book called Dragonfly Dragonfly
“Once in awhile right in the middle of ordinary life…love brings you a fairy tale”. And I thank, Ward, my love of fifty years for the best fairy tale to come true in my otherwise ordinary life.
Remember that time doesn’t take away the loss, it just leads us to the place where we can look back at the good times and smile!🥰
Linda Abercrombie
Beautifully said. I love your new Rose Wall card, Jodee. Time and again, these cards help us find the perfect words for our feelings, but you know what? I think the Grief Support ones do it best of all. Perhaps I’m drawn to them because they brought me to you.
I agree with you, Judy. I like the sound of Decoration Day best, and I wish we could keep it on the 30th instead of turning it into just another three-day weekend.