MAY 22, 2019 – As support & encouragement designs go, this is such a smart and versatile one that I’ve slipped the magnet in the card then into a box of food and supplies headed to long-suffering Venezuelans. I’ve given it to a neighbor who so wants her real estate license that she’s now studying to re-take the brutal exam for the fourth time. And, ha!, just yesterday our CAO Ana said she was mailing it to her daughters who live in Colorado, where they’re facing six inches of snow!
This is also the card & magnet I’ll take to our Hannlis, who is back in the rehabilitation hospital after breaking her “other” hip recently. Longtime Cardthartic followers know all about this astounding 95-year-old, as we often write of the cards inspired by her enviable drive and wit and intellect. Visiting her over the weekend, it occurred to me that the last update we gave you was last Fall when Hannlis had recovered nicely from her first hip surgery, so here we go …
As always, Hannlis’ fight is really something to see. A month ago, minutes after she’d fallen and pushed the help button on her Life Alert necklace, friend Naomi had synchronistically stopped by. “Literally, as she was being lifted into the ambulance,” Naomi reported, “she’s holding my hand and so calmly directing me to ‘Bring my phone, and my Kindle so I can keep reading Michelle’s autobiography, and be sure you get the chargers, too.’ She knew what a long haul she was in for and was not going unprepared! ‘And please take the fresh eggs from my fridge and distribute them,’ she called out as they were closing the doors. ‘I got them for just 88 cents a dozen at Aldi yesterday!'”
Flash forward to this past Saturday. As I read H a story about how her beloved Aldi is disrupting the grocery industry, friend Julie walked in and soon after asked, “Hannlis, did you see that I.M. Pei has died?” Without skipping a beat came the reply, “102. That brilliant architect contributed so much to this world.” Just then a nurse handed Hannlis some blank sheets of paper. Julie and I looked at each other, then at H, who explained, “You know my grandson Kyle graduates from college today, and how disappointed I am that I can’t be with him. Well, I thought I’d write him the words to Beethoven’s 9th symphony.” Alrighty then. :)
As Julie and I sat enthralled, Hannlis leaned back on the raised bed and, with hands dancing, sang Ode to Joy in her native tongue. “Hannlis,” I said, feeling her passion, “rather than write it, you could sing it on video and we’ll email it to Kyle.” Great! She fluffed her hair, I wrapped her favorite scarf around to cover the gown, and Julie grabbed her phone and got it in one take. “In Germany,” Hannlis explained, “this is a song friends and families all sing on such a celebratory day.” What a lovely keepsake for her grandson, to see and hear her in song, followed by a most sincere, “I wanted you to know that I am with you in spirit there today, Kyle, just as I will be loving you and watching over you every day of your life.” Amazing.
If you have friends and family who would love to feel you in their corner these days, maybe send them this embodiment of strong Hannlis energy. She personifies Keep Fighting the Good Fight by constantly showing us how to push through to the good stuff of life. Knowing her, and how hard she’s working in PT, she’ll be released from the rehab hospital again soon. Meanwhile, I’m taking that spitfire a new t-shirt that reads, “I’m just here for the food.”
~ jodee stevens
founder & chief creative
PS! Should you care to send Hannlis a card of your choice, we’ll spring for it. :) Just add an extra Support & Encouragement card to your order and use promo code Good Fight at checkout by June 1st to receive that card FREE. Mail it to: Hannlis, c/o Cardthartic, 3102 Research Road, Champaign, IL 61822. “No pressure, just pleasure,” as we always say!
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