MAY 6, 2020 – When we offer nearly 800 card designs for 30 different occasions, what a bittersweet sign of the times it is that the 10 designs now ordered most are all condolence. Cardie Teresa Werth said it clearly and well: The world has never had a more pressing need for soothing words.
Terry recently visited the Share Your Story section of our site to become part of our Cardie Community. There she shared that she is a funeral celebrant. “I write very personalized services, and I send cards as a tangible way to reach people when they are celebrating a life, suffering a loss, or simply in need of love and friendship.”
This expert on the subject explained, “When so many people are now losing loved ones without being able to comfort them or say I love you or good bye one last time, cards let them know they’re being remembered and thought of. Cards are the perfect antidote to texts and email because they’re kept and appreciated over and over again.
“After my wonderful dad died in a car accident 23 years ago,” she shared, “I kept the many notes and cards people sent in a glass bowl on my dining room for 12 years, reading them occasionally for the comfort and joy they (still) elicit. I finally stored them away because, in 2009, I needed to fill the bowl again with another huge trove of caring cards that then stayed there for years … I had been diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer.”
As with Covid-19 now, Terry said, “Back in 2009, there really was no set protocol for my cancer. The doctors had to guess! At the time they told me I had maybe five years; I will celebrate 11 years since my diagnosis this Friday, May 8.
“During this pandemic, all of us are experiencing new and different types of grief and loss,” she pointed out. “We have no roadmap. We have no one prepared to help us. My work as a funeral celebrant has poised me to begin work on a book of essays on how to navigate these emotions we are all feeling with increased intensity and frequency. My hope is the book will help aid our nation’s emotional and spiritual recovery.”
Terry said, “Seeing your condolence card that reads,‘When you’ve loved someone your whole life, their love surrounds you still,’ I wanted to include the poignant sentiment in our book. I feel that message is precisely what people need to remember, with the three words that appear inside the card being the most important, ‘And always will.’
“When a person is in the fog of grief,” she explained, “the enormity of the loss is often all they can feel. This card serves as a gentle reminder that, while death is undeniably a physical separation, the strong feelings of love and memories of a lifetime cannot be lost or erased. The love that was shared cannot be destroyed and, in time, people discover the many ways that love lives on. I am very grateful I found this card,” Terry said. “It will touch many.”
I cannot imagine the extreme pain & heartbreak people are enduring by not being at their loved one’s side for a final goodbye. These are painful times and cards, such as this one, certainly helps us to reach out and support those in need.
For years I have been using an 8×10 photo calendar (an annual Christmas gift) as a diary of special events. I staple special cards I receive in it as a remembrance so I can look back and smile when I need it most. Stay well.
When searching for a condolence card in 2016 the Passages version of this card featuring Two Cherry Trees caught my eye in the revolving rack and when I took a look at it the message captured my heart. That was my introduction to the big and full world of Cardthartic. Since that day I have bought this card more times than I or the Fairy Cardmother could count. On every sad occasion when I send it I know that the lovely message of this card will long stay with the recipient. It is so easy to send lots of cards when there are so many choices available from Cardthartic– and especially now when we can order online and know that our favorite local card store we can’t shop in will receive some of the money.
Terry, keep doing what you are doing. It is obvious from your writing that you are beautifully blessed with the gift of compassion and expression.