I chuckle to myself when I brainstorm my skills and what kinds of activities I enjoy doing, as part of figuring out a career. I come up with some cool ideas, some of which aren’t actually viable means of sustenance…just really exciting.
I just spent 45 minutes handling, writing, and licking greeting cards (+ envelopes) for a range of occasions. One for a friend who was recently in a traumatic car accident. He’s fine, thank god, but emotionally scarred, and recovering from minor neck soreness and a scratch up his left arm. Three were for upcoming birthdays – all different variations of ‘happy birthday’ and for different types of friends. Another couple were blank, just to say hey to some friends I haven’t seen in a while. Completing this process, which is tactile and emotional, is so cathartic. It’s a simple, but greatly fulfilling pleasure.
Like everything, writing paper greeting cards is increasingly lost in the traffic of e-mail, evite, instagram, and the myriad social networks. And that’s fine…they really do take too long to reach the corners of the country (and beyond). For the actual weight of the message, it can be expensive. To just say “hi and I miss you” can run $7, for a nice card and (because I’m a freak for details) special stamps that cost 65 instead of 45 cents. Depending on the shape and mass of the card itself, sometimes two stamps are necessary.
But I don’t do it  because it’s logical, or efficient. The required effort to buy, write, and send a card is what makes the recipient know I mean what I say. It’s an action at its core, not a word. How refreshing.
As you could imagine, I love getting cards too. A couple of my friends are big card-senders, and I learn from them about card brands, or how to make your own (or to get hand-made ones on Etsy!). Even though I’ve touched and sent a range of card types and qualities, I still come back to Papyrus cards. They’re all very…glitzy. Covered in glitter, or metallic, or silver foil. Or gemstones. Nothing beats flash, in my mind. Swoon!
A lot of my friends like more rustic, vintage-style cardstock though…with heritage fonts and retro graphics. Those are cool too, especially coming from the right person for the right occasion. I recently received a great engagement party invite from a dear friend. The design, and verbiage, were perfect for the kind of person she is. And who has a BBQ engagement party? This lady! 🙂
Do you like writing cards, and getting them? If you haven’t spent a quiet Saturday afternoon doing so, I think you should. Could be a worthwhile outlet for life’s stresses.
