Say it with Hallmark?
Sep. 26th, 2007 01:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
norsegirlYeah, I think I've found yet another thing the card companies do a miserable job of covering...
A few years ago my best friend's father had a major heart attack. He survived and the prognosis was good. He retired and quit smoking and is looking quite good now, but it was scary at the time. I wanted to send a card that expressed my condolences at his misfortune and wishes for a quick recovery. There wasn't a card that said "get well soon" that was anywhere between "sorry you got the sniffles" and "May God keep you on your imminent voyage to the other side". In an entire Hallmark store I finally managed to find exactly TWO cards that fit in this mid-range and picked my choice. Seriously, is it that hard to write "best wishes for a speedy recovery"?
Today was another hard card-buying challenge. YOU try to find a birthday card that is appropriate for someone who's just been told they have 6 months to live. Seriously, anything that isn't intimate or romantic is either the joking "boy you look old!" or "Here's hoping the year to come holds much happiness". Even the old "hope you have fun on your special day" seems entirely inappropriate when given to someone who in a single month has gone from old but fit to practically at death's door (my mother was rather upset at seeing how far he's declined last week). I didn't break down crying in the store, though I did feel that crushing weight on my chest.
I chose my usual avoidance tactic. Got it over with as quickly as I could (picked the first non-offensive card I found) and distracted myself with something bright and shiny (a hula hoop - no I am not making that up).
A few years ago my best friend's father had a major heart attack. He survived and the prognosis was good. He retired and quit smoking and is looking quite good now, but it was scary at the time. I wanted to send a card that expressed my condolences at his misfortune and wishes for a quick recovery. There wasn't a card that said "get well soon" that was anywhere between "sorry you got the sniffles" and "May God keep you on your imminent voyage to the other side". In an entire Hallmark store I finally managed to find exactly TWO cards that fit in this mid-range and picked my choice. Seriously, is it that hard to write "best wishes for a speedy recovery"?
Today was another hard card-buying challenge. YOU try to find a birthday card that is appropriate for someone who's just been told they have 6 months to live. Seriously, anything that isn't intimate or romantic is either the joking "boy you look old!" or "Here's hoping the year to come holds much happiness". Even the old "hope you have fun on your special day" seems entirely inappropriate when given to someone who in a single month has gone from old but fit to practically at death's door (my mother was rather upset at seeing how far he's declined last week). I didn't break down crying in the store, though I did feel that crushing weight on my chest.
I chose my usual avoidance tactic. Got it over with as quickly as I could (picked the first non-offensive card I found) and distracted myself with something bright and shiny (a hula hoop - no I am not making that up).
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-26 08:23 pm (UTC)No. That's what blank cards with pretty pictures on the front are for.
But I totally agree with on the birthday card front. I hate shopping for birthday cards even in the best of times for that very reason.
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Date: 2007-09-26 08:23 pm (UTC)hula hoop = lolz :)