November 15, 2022 — Ok, so this card has long been one of our community’s all-time most popular Feel Better designs. But who knew it could ring so crazily true?!

Months after her beloved husband passed away last March, the nearing-90-year-young Cardie mother of my friend Leo here in Miami moved into a lovely retirement community just miles from her daughter Jen in the Carolinas. And to keep her company, Mom told Leo she wanted a cat. So on Leo’s next visit, once she was a bit settled, he accompanied her to a local shelter where she met a cat she liked. Having just been through so many big life changes, though, she wisely decided not to adopt just yet.

Months later, Mom was telling neighbors at the retirement home that she still wished she had a cat, so one of those well-meaning neighbors knew someone who knew someone who had a kitten that needed a home, and brought it to Mom.

As expected with all cute kitties, this one was a lot to handle — knocking things over, running across kitchen countertops, scratching the furniture, making noise through the night, and the worst offense when one has a human with thin-skin due to blood-thinners, she scratched Mom up, down, left, and right. On Leo’s next visit, he convinced Mom that the kitten really was more than any one person could handle, and they made the hard decision to take that little fur-face to a good shelter, where they were assured she would be relieved of her own unfortunate flea affliction and adopted quickly. (Feeling sad and guilty, they also made a meaningful donation.)

Fast forward three months to week before last … Mom was working out with her physical therapist at the retirement community when the PT noticed on Mom not only flea bites but live fleas! Leo and Jen were instantly alterted that their mother must leave the retirement center immediately so a pest control company could come treat the apartment.

Given that, at Jen’s house, the bedrooms and baths with showers are all up stairs that Mom can no longer easily climb — and Jen is off doing her high-stress job while three dogs happily roam around the house all day long — they booked Mom a nice hotel room for the few days the extermination and follow-up steam cleaning of all the furniture was to take. All her clothes had to be sent out for dry cleaning with special chemicals, so Jen bought and dropped off new at the hotel. Sounds good, except when Leo arranged for meals to be delivered from area restaurants to the room, that proved challenging, too, because every time Mom was being notified that the food had arrived, her cell phone did not cooperate and she just couldn’t beat the hotel phone to voicemail where calls jumped after just three rings! This went on over and over again for days.

Back at the apartment, pest control had supposedly done their thing. But when the cleaning company arrived to steam clean the furniture and bed, they ended up turning right around saying the apartment was still infested with live fleas! So Leo had to have the pest control company return and do a second treatment, this time using one of those bug bombs with pesticide fog. In order to do that, of course, Leo had to get the building manager to shut off the smoke alarms and sprinkler system in the entire building. Understandably, the retirement community was already freaked out. Manangement had hired their own pest control company to treat the PT room, sending poor Mom the bill.

Just when the family thought all was going to end well with simply opening the apartment windows to thoroughly ventilate then get Mom back home … Hurricane Nicole blew through town. But no worries, nearing $5,000 later, Mom hopes to move back into her fresh, clean apartment this week.

She’s feeling good and, with quite an ordeal behind them, Leo is almost laughing about life imitating art. “It’s true!” he said, “Things could be worse … you could have fleas!”

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative

November 15, 2022 — Ok, so this card has long been one of our community’s all-time most popular Feel Better designs. But who knew it could ring so crazily true?!

Months after her beloved husband passed away last March, the nearing-90-year-young Cardie mother of my friend Leo here in Miami moved into a lovely retirement community just miles from her daughter Jen in the Carolinas. And to keep her company, Mom told Leo she wanted a cat. So on Leo’s next visit, once she was a bit settled, he accompanied her to a local shelter where she met a cat she liked. Having just been through so many big life changes, though, she wisely decided not to adopt just yet.

Months later, Mom was telling neighbors at the retirement home that she still wished she had a cat, so one of those well-meaning neighbors knew someone who knew someone who had a kitten that needed a home, and brought it to Mom.

As expected with all cute kitties, this one was a lot to handle — knocking things over, running across kitchen countertops, scratching the furniture, making noise through the night, and the worst offense when one has a human with thin-skin due to blood-thinners, she scratched Mom up, down, left, and right. On Leo’s next visit, he convinced Mom that the kitten really was more than any one person could handle, and they made the hard decision to take that little fur-face to a good shelter, where they were assured she would be relieved of her own unfortunate flea affliction and adopted quickly. (Feeling sad and guilty, they also made a meaningful donation.)

Fast forward three months to week before last … Mom was working out with her physical therapist at the retirement community when the PT noticed on Mom not only flea bites but live fleas! Leo and Jen were instantly alterted that their mother must leave the retirement center immediately so a pest control company could come treat the apartment.

Given that, at Jen’s house, the bedrooms and baths with showers are all up stairs that Mom can no longer easily climb — and Jen is off doing her high-stress job while three dogs happily roam around the house all day long — they booked Mom a nice hotel room for the few days the extermination and follow-up steam cleaning of all the furniture was to take. All her clothes had to be sent out for dry cleaning with special chemicals, so Jen bought and dropped off new at the hotel. Sounds good, except when Leo arranged for meals to be delivered from area restaurants to the room, that proved challenging, too, because every time Mom was being notified that the food had arrived, her cell phone did not cooperate and she just couldn’t beat the hotel phone to voicemail where calls jumped after just three rings! This went on over and over again for days.

Back at the apartment, pest control had supposedly done their thing. But when the cleaning company arrived to steam clean the furniture and bed, they ended up turning right around saying the apartment was still infested with live fleas! So Leo had to have the pest control company return and do a second treatment, this time using one of those bug bombs with pesticide fog. In order to do that, of course, Leo had to get the building manager to shut off the smoke alarms and sprinkler system in the entire building. Understandably, the retirement community was already freaked out. Manangement had hired their own pest control company to treat the PT room, sending poor Mom the bill.

Just when the family thought all was going to end well with simply opening the apartment windows to thoroughly ventilate then get Mom back home … Hurricane Nicole blew through town. But no worries, nearing $5,000 later, Mom hopes to move back into her fresh, clean apartment this week.

She’s feeling good and, with quite an ordeal behind them, Leo is almost laughing about life imitating art. “It’s true!” he said, “Things could be worse … you could have fleas!”

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative