Aug. 24, 2020 — We share this little reminder with you today to honor the joyful spirit of our CEO Ana. Not because it’s her birthday but, well, because she sadly lost her father in Venezuela to covid in August 2020.
I’ve written often of Ana, mainly saying that she is Cardthartic’s valued voice of reason, the one whose cool head helps steer everyone else through their storms. What I probably have not mentioned enough is that she has a very clever wit and a sure sense of fun and mischief. While I never met her dad, from her stories over the years, I’ve gathered that she inherited these joyful qualities from him …
For my birthday a few years back, Ana invited her colleagues to choose their favorite Little Reminders design and reenact the photo for her camera so she could print the pics on mock cards as a surprise for me. Hilarious. How she got our so-dignified accountant down on all fours, chin to the floor eyeing a tennis ball like LR470, I’ll never know!
Our little management team will be talking serious business when, next thing you know, someone has said something that prompted Ana to break into song. (There’s nothing like having your budget request met with the Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want!) Oh, countless are the times Ana has cracked us up with the perfect musical accompaniment. To cheer her dad in his final days, she asked family members in all parts of the world to send videos of themselves telling this jokester “remember when …” stories of the times he most made them laugh.
Last week, Ana and I were discussing how these past six months have challenged us to do more than live with gratitude, as we’ve always done. We must purposefully seek out joy, we decided. Make a point of actively looking for it throughout the day to help our hearts balance out the world’s sadness and strife.
Maybe if we all seek out life’s little joys this week, Cardies, our collective good, soothing energy will enfold Ana and her family. No doubt it will reach one beloved Venezuelan funnyman now on some heavenly golf course, smiling at the thought of the beautiful legacy he’s left behind for all who know his dear family to enjoy.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
Search Out Joy
Never mind pleasure. Search out joy. Pleasure is its shadow. But joy is real, a secret splendor running through all creation.
Like gold, it doesn’t lie about the streets waiting to be picked up. It has to be dug for, with diligence and passion. It’s in people, to be found through the practice of love. It’s in work, in the rigorous exercise of powers of mind or body or spirit. It’s a gift the created world is perpetually offering; the price of it is untiring attention to the present
moment. It is to be found always and only in the contemplation of reality.
Hunt it down, pursue it, track it to its lair where it dwells. Not in pleasures and pastimes, distractions, piled-up satisfactions, and busyness. It dwells in truth, and nowhere else.
That’s why it matters. It will show you moment by moment where truth is for you. And when you know that,
cleave to it, turn not aside, be given up to that. That,
if you will, is a way of life worth living.
~Fae Malania
Thank you so much for sharing the sad news about Ana’s father. It saddens me to hear yet another loss to this terrible virus. I frequently purchase your cards because the sentiments are so spot on and heartfelt.
My condolences to Ana.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
So sorry to hear about Ann’s lost of her father. I would like her to know that she is in my prayers. Let him to Rest In Peace. Ana will have an Angel looking at her from above 🙏
No matter the occasion or impulse, I seek out your cards because you nail the emotion felt and the sentiment I want to express. I am so sorry for Ana’s loss. The loss of a parent, especially a parent you admire and take after, is what we all dread most of our lives. And then it happens. It’s a moment in time when you really understand how loved you are by all the people who reach out to you with wonderful words of support and friendship. Thank you for your work, it’s so important.
My best to Ana; I know she will be surrounded by love and support from her colleagues and friends.
Katie
Your emails always leave me reflecting on life and on the joys. Thank you for always using your words in the best possible ways.
I am sending my heartfelt sympathy to Ana. Losing someone you love is always so incredibly hard. When, due to circumstances, you cannot be by his side to hold his hand and tell him you love him one more time it makes the heartache worse. However, one thing I believe is that he knew you were really there with him then and will be always. Love lives on.
Ana, I’m so sorry for the loss of dad. May your memories bring you comfort.
Jodee, thank you for your eloquent writing as always.