By Minnie Wabanimkee
I remember the first cards I ever received in the mail. I was a child of about ten years old. It was Valentine’s Day, and I lived in a boarding school in Harbor Springs, Michigan.
A nun handed me a big envelope and inside were four Valentine’s Day cards, the old-fashioned kind that were shaped in hearts and bright red in color. I couldn’t believe it! They were from my grandmother who spoke broken English and was barely able to write. I knew that someone must have helped her write them and drove her to the post office since she didn’t drive anymore. Wow! Her cards made me feel less alone. You see, each year when Valentine’s Day would roll around, I’d be reminded that this day celebrates love, but my parents and grandma were 100 miles away. My heart would ache for them. My grandma wrote in her card how much she loved me and that the whole family was thinking of me. I felt so loved!
A few months later, my classmates and I took an end-of-school year trip for a picnic. We were treated to the best of all picnic foods: potato salad, hamburgers, and a sweet treat. Afterward, we sent thank you cards to all the benefactors who made that trip possible. Donations were always a part of boarding school—everything was always donated from the clothing we wore to the food that we ate. I was in charge that year of deciding what kind of thank you notes were going to be sent out. I remember I designed cards in the shapes of cars, cupcakes, and various food items. The word “thank you” was written in big letters inside. My creative juices were flowing, said Sister Fidelis, my favorite nun.
It is no wonder I design greeting cards for a living.
Sending cards via snail mail is becoming a lost art. Remember during holidays and birthdays receiving all those handwritten cards spewing news and words of love. Whatever happened to those days? Or a $5 bill with a short note from a dear relative or godmother?
I think there is nothing more loving and appreciated than a handwritten card that comes to your mailbox. You walk out to the mailbox and in with all the bills and advertising, there it is! An envelope with a handwritten address to you from someone you know. Inside is a note on a beautiful card with a note from someone saying they are thinking of you on your birthday or the special holiday that’s coming up.
So, to that end I am encouraging all of you, no matter your age, to go to the store and buy not one card—but six cards—and send each one to those you love the most. Be sure to write loving words and spend 0.66 cents for a stamp. You will make them smile and some may even shed a tear thinking how wonderful it is that someone wrote to them celebrating their love and the holiday.
So, folks, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND MAY THE NEW YEAR BE FILLED WITH PROSPERITY AND GOOD HEALTH. CHEERS while drinking your apple juice from a wine glass saved for use only on this special occasion.
If you’d like to see the cards I make, stop in at Bay Books in Suttons Bay where the owner, Tina, has been kind enough to stock them!
