I was sitting here eating a pickle and thought: “I should send get well cards to my brother-in-law.” I know…what does a pickle have to do with greeting cards, or for that matter my brother-in-law? Are you thinking that I want to say my brother-in-law is sour? Or are you thinking that I get a scrunched up face when I think of him? Actually, I really like my brother-in-law. He’s a little guy with a great sense of humor, but he doesn’t really resemble a pickle. Isn’t it strange how one thought will trigger another?

Here’s the story of get well cards and Bobby, my brother-in-law, and how I found out he loves greeting cards as much as I do. A few years ago, I was at my sister’s house in New Mexico and she said, “You have to see Bobby’s collection of greeting cards from you. He has them all arranged on the windmill.” Sure enough there were birthday cards, thinking of you cards, and a few just for laughs cards. He saved all of the greeting cards I sent him and right in front was a card with a pickle on the front, which he claims is his favorite.

Unfortunately, Bobby recently had a stroke and is in rehab doing physical therapy to regain use of his left arm and leg. I like to send him a few greeting cards a week to encourage him and keep him cheered up. So I sent off the get well card, but regrettably, I couldn’t find one with a pickle.

Once the Christmas season rolls around, we all come across plenty of holiday cards in stores or our own mailboxes. Some greeting cards are beautiful, others are funny, and then there are some holiday cards that bring back memories and truly hit home. Whenever I see winter scene cards, I’m reminded of my dad.

My dad was a real nature lover, preferring to be outdoors whenever he could. Growing up on a dairy farm in a small town in Pennsylvania, he spent his boyhood days taking care of the barnyard animals, fishing, swimming, and just enjoying the countryside. On snowy winter days, he would put on his skis and set out for school, trekking across the meadows to a one-room schoolhouse. My dad had an endless assortment of stories about growing up on the farm with nine brothers and sisters. When he spoke of those long ago days, it brought to mind the beautiful Currier & Ives paintings of winter scenes and I thought about how nice it must have been to grow up in such a place, surrounded by so much natural beauty.

My dad left the Pennsylvania mountains when he married my Mom. They moved to New York City, where my mom was from, and then to the suburbs when they started raising a family. I could tell that he missed country life. He lived in the suburbs, but his heart remained in the mountains of Pennsylvania, a place that would always be home to him.

One Christmas while shopping for holiday cards to send to family members, I came across some really wonderful Christmas cards. I picked out one of these pretty holiday cards for my dad, a greeting card with beautiful snow-covered mountains, a babbling brook and a family of deer in the foreground. He never mentioned the greeting card to me, but after the holidays I stopped by his house to take him out to breakfast at his favorite place, IHOP. He was crazy about their buckwheat pancakes! Anyway, I noticed that on his bedroom dresser was the holiday card I had sent him. The Christmas card was propped up in front of all his other stuff, so he could see it each time he passed by. He saw me looking at the holiday card, came over and picked it up. “You know,” he said, “This is the best greeting card anybody ever sent me. It reminds me of home. “

My dad’s been gone quite a few years now and I’ll always miss him, but I smile each time I think of that one little Christmas card and how happy it made him.

A greeting card can be used in many different ways – just take a look at all the different types of corporate greeting cards available on this website! The first use that comes to mind is an expression of goodwill towards the recipient, be it for a holiday, a birthday, or to congratulate or thank. That goodwill, however, can be “paid forward” with just a simple act.

Many customers order their corporate greeting cards with a special imprint. Some thank patrons or clients at Christmas time with mention of their end-of-year donation to a favorite charity inside of their greeting cards. Others celebrate the birthdays of their employees by donating to an organization in the employee’s name.

Using a greeting card to pay it forward doesn’t always have to include such a grand gesture. Small acts of kindness are just as meaningful. Think of a colleague who may be having a rough time, and send her a thinking of you card. Perhaps a client is having her first child. Send a congratulations card. Did colleagues in the office pilot a recycling program for the company? Why not send thank you cards? You can even choose a greeting card made with windpower in light of the situation.

In my greeting card Googling (yes, I do Google greeting cards – it comes with the job description), I discovered what, to me, may be the most interesting use of greeting cards in the “pay it forward” aspect. Amnesty International annually asks members to send greeting cards with messages of support to prisoners and human rights defenders worldwide. This small act of goodwill lets those receiving the greeting cards know someone remembers them, and the message to write in the greeting card is as simple as “We’re thinking of you.” I was disappointed to discover that the 2007 Holiday Card Action program had ended in January, but it’s a great cause to remember during the 2008 holiday season.

In this seemingly endless crazy world of business being reinvented every day and new communications devices cropping up each week there IS a staple, a basic, a fundamental unchanging and completely inalterable constant in this world. You might wonder what possibly in THIS world could remain unchanged, heaven forbid INALTERABLE!?

Yes, I write for you today of this magical, simple, amazing, unchanged-for-generations and inalterable for many many more generations THING. What is this thing? Call it manners; Call it courtesy; Call it kindness, thanks or decency. Call it what you like but I find most of the words and descriptions people tend to use for this THING limiting and too narrow. I’ll simply say that there is an undeniable fact and that is simply that we are human. This “human-ness” bestows upon us five (5) senses and an amazing intellect.

Our most basic and primitive human-ness is lost upon many of us and our children. We race around the planet in cars and airplanes. Even our poorest children live in a fantasy land of television screens, game consoles and computers. Our human-ness is often forgotten. But it is here. It is undeniable. And therefore our most basic and simple senses and psychology still do exist despite the “advancements” of society in communications and technology.

Sometimes when I think “thoughts” like this I wonder if I am maybe just getting older and starting to reflect on my life more but then actually I remember that in fact I spent much more time thinking thoughts like this when I WAS younger!? Anyhow, I’m not known for my brevity, maybe I just try and cut to the chase. It is simple. I sit before you today to write of a most basic, simple and too often forgotten simple thing. We are human. We are simple. We appreciate simple things. We understand. We understand the difference between a bulk email, a form letter, a quickly fired off email and a sincere effort that takes a precious few moments of the senders’ time.

Today, I sit to write a “Thanks” to Rocco in Volvo Service of Montclair Auto Group in Montclair NJ. I have never met Rocco. I have never spoken to Rocco. However, Rocco deserves my heartfelt thanks and Rocco will be receiving from me a thank you card stating this clearly. Rocco provided me with something simple that brought a smile to my face today and restored some small bit of my faith in humanity today. Rocco sent me a note that starts “Greetings!” which then goes on to explain, sorry this took so long but the parts for this are not available any longer…I managed to find an old broken one from which to take the battery cap…”

Rocco solved a problem for me. My 1997 Volvo wagon that my mother-in-law gave me was suddenly inexplicably not able to let me in with that new fangled wireless door lock because of a very simple reason. It had no battery. But much worse than that the battery cap was missing from the device. Now I know that I don’t NEED that little device and in fact I had lived for many months without it, but what to do? Throw away the device or fix it? Dangling on my keychain it was nothing but a sore reminder of the weakness of technology and an ornamental piece of garbage. I could not bring myself to just toss the little thing so I asked a friend if he knew of a Volvo dealer nearby. He did and in fact he said he would send it to his friend “Rocco” who might be able to help.

The “short” story… Rocco helped. And he reminded me with his kind note accompanying the fixed device that we are all human. That simple things like a note can make a big difference in people’s impressions and attitudes. Not hastily written form-letters, notes, cards, Holiday cards, Christmas cards, birthday cards, or in those unfortunate times, sympathy cards. Our psyches are simple. Our brains powerful. We know the effort it takes and we appreciate that time spent as it does correlate to the sender’s sincerity. So, Rocco, you can see that I am sincerely thankful. And you, my reader, who has made it this far…yes, you! You are human, and your friends, your family and your customers are human too. A simple and soulful thank you that presents to another humans five senses a small piece of paper expressing good will is the very least we can do for each other in this day and age…

Be a human. Send a greeting card to someone. Make them smile and you will have done a good deed that will know doubt revisit you someday.

Thank you Rocco and thank you Montclair Auto Group. My thank you cards are on their way! And, it is without hesitation that I recommend your services to others. For old world service with the human touch, visit www.montclairjaguar.com or www.montclairvolvo.com Though most importantly, be human! And visit them in person at:

Montclair Auto Group
654 Bloomfield Ave.
Montclair, NJ 07042
(973) 746-4500

Certainly, it makes one feel terrific to send congratulations cards to friends or acquaintances who have special, personal events that are causes for joy; for instance, the birth of a child, a graduation, the purchase of a new house, a promotion or new job. To be the recipient of such greeting cards at happy times in life can provide memories that are hard to forget.

A few friends actually sent me congratulations cards for a non-traditional kind of event –when the New York Giants won the 2008 Super Bowl. For me, the Giants’ victory over an obviously superior New England Patriots team was one of the high points of my life, since I have been a die-hard Giants fan as far back as I remember. So it was pretty cool to receive greeting cards for this occasion.

In my office, there are two coworkers whom I consider good friends, and who both happen to be devout Patriots fans. None of the three of us actually believed that the Giants really could win but, when it happened, my two buddies were distraught. I, on the other hand, was overjoyed.

Now I consider myself to be a pretty upstanding, honorable guy. In a competition of any type, if I do not have the good fortune of coming out as the winner, I make it my business to make sure I shake my adversary’s hand and give the proper verbal kudos to their victory. Back at work the next morning, one of these coworkers was kind enough to murmur a half-hearted congratulations while the other not only was MAD AT ME (like I had thrown the winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress), but he refused to even acknowledge that the Giants were even good enough to be on the same field as the Patriots. Had I received congratulations cards from one or both, I would have made sure to frame them and put them on the wall of my newly-refurbished basement as a fond remembrance of an unlikely victory for my favorite team. But it was not to be. Maybe for the fun of it, next year I’ll send these two friends anniversary cards commemorating the day the Giants won the big game!

I enjoy working for a company that makes business get well cards and other types of greeting cards, but there comes a time when every person needs a break from her job. Finally, a vacation! After a year of not going anywhere except occasionally to upstate New York, I decided it was time that I kick up my heels on a sandy, warm beach in the Caribbean and forget about my work in the world of corporate greeting cards for a week. I decided it best to go at the end of winter, my least favorite season, to rejuvenate myself and try to regain that healthy glow I once had months prior. April seemed like the perfect time. Everything was planned, my vacation days were approved, and I was ready to go! But in the hullabaloo of preparation and excitement, I forgot to tell one person that I would be out of the office…an outside business vendor.

It didn’t even cross my mind that I had forgotten to mention my vacation to Holly, my off-site vendor whom I speak to almost daily on the phone, until I came home. I was rested, tanned and relaxed, trying to catch up on “real life” by going through my mail at home. I came across a few envelopes for greeting cards, which I assumed were for my upcoming birthday. We often exchange business birthday cards with our vendors so I thought the envelope with the Kansas return address contained a birthday card from Holly. Instead, when I opened the envelope I found a beautiful get well card. “A get well card? Who is sick?” I wondered to myself. I opened up the greeting card and found it was addressed to me! Normally, I’d be touched to receive get well cards from colleagues or vendors but since I wasn’t ill, I was a bit confused. The message inside the greeting card read:

Dear Janine,

I have not received any calls from you in a week, and figured you were out of the office. At first I thought you were on vacation, but knew you would’ve told me, and assumed that you were sick. I hope you feel better and are back at the office soon!

- Holly

Now what was I to do in this situation? I thought it strange to assume someone is sick, but her action of sending me a get well greeting card was really thoughtful, even if unwarranted. I was stuck. Should I play it off like I really was under the weather to save her the embarrassment? Should I be truthful and apologize for forgetting to tell her? I returned to work the following day and showed my coworkers the beautiful greeting cards I received. I thought it best to tell Holly the truth, and we both had a good laugh. The next time I take off from work, I’ll be sure to remember to notify Holly and save us both the embarrassment!

I’ve noticed that among our family and friends, we seem to acquire labels. Perhaps among your acquaintances, you can name the best cook or the trivia buff, the gullible one or the cynic, the non-stop talker or the shrinking violet, the athlete or the know-it-all. In my family and circle of friends, I am known as “the thoughtful one.” This actually was an easy reputation to acquire; I’m a habitual sender of personalized greeting cards. I’ve been like this since early childhood, when I carefully made my own cards with construction paper and crayons. Later, as a stay-at-home Mom with a budget as small as my tykes, I sometimes got pretty creative with my homemade greeting cards.

As interests and activities multiplied, social circles kept expanding. My siblings, cousins, and friends acquired spouses, children, and eventually, grandchildren. Even my children and their friends acquired children! Alas, time flew and before I knew it, I had at least two full-time jobs and a list of birthdays a mile long, which now also included business associates who had become friends. And let me tell you, when you’ve “spoiled” people by always remembering their birthdays, they won’t let you get away with suddenly “not remembering.”

I had long since converted from homemade to store bought cards but found my shopping trips for greeting cards to be too frequent. I even missed an occasional birthday or anniversary mailing; I just couldn’t find time for the card hunt! A few years ago, I found my solution and salvation. I now keep on hand a beautiful box of assorted birthday cards. At a glance to the calendar or on a moment’s notice, having this box of assorted greeting cards means that I’m always prepared to send off happy birthday greetings…without delay!

I also started keeping a stockpile of assorted greeting cards for other occasions so I’m always prompt with sympathy cards, thank you cards, anniversary cards, and get well cards. I even have a supply of blank note cards for when I just want to let someone know that I’ve been thinking of them.

No one suspects how easy and economical it is for me to be so thoughtful. But I’ve heard some lovely comments over the years: “You always remember,” “Every year I look forward to getting your beautiful birthday card,” “It wouldn’t seem like my birthday without getting your cheery card.” And there it is, with so many less complimentary titles that might have been applied to me, I have been labeled as “the thoughtful one.”

So I went on a shopping spree the other day. As always, my intentions were to stop at the store to pick up the one thing I needed, which was a greeting card assortment box. But as any shopper knows, it is never that simple! Once you get to the store, you start looking around and seeing all these other products that you could use or that you might as well get while you’re there.

It occurred to me that I should pick up some snacks and bottles of soda for my Super Bowl party. And I also browsed the movie section and picked up a few DVDs. Now that football season is over, I’m not going to know what to do with my time on Sundays! Along with all of this other stuff that I bought without really needing, I got my box of assorted greeting cards, which I sometimes refer to as my emergency kit. Once I picked up what I was really there for, I was all set.

I like to purchase boxes of assorted greeting cards because when I look for a single card, I end up spending too much time reading through every card (as well as spending too much money). It’s also easier to have an assortment on hand instead of running to the store when I realize someone’s birthday is right around the corner. I love giving personalized greeting cards, even when I don’t know the recipient all that well. The box of assorted greeting cards that I found was perfect because it included birthday cards, sympathy cards, thank you cards, anniversary cards, and get well cards…all the cards I could possibly need in the case of an emergency (or a senior moment).

My friends will all tell you how much I love sending greeting cards. I’m the type of person who has been known to read half the cards in the store before selecting the perfect one (which is why nobody I know will go to a card store with me). I don’t just send birthday cards or Christmas cards; I love sending thinking of you cards or even “Today is Wednesday” cards. Whatever the occasion, I’ll buy cards in advance so I have them on hand when needed. Naturally, when I started working for a greeting card company, my friends laughed and said I must be in heaven now.

I am in heaven because not only are there new and beautiful cards to admire every year, I am surrounded by people who continually chat about greeting cards. “How do you like the new birthday cards?” our Creative team wonders. “Which Christmas cards are your favorites?” asks our Chief Marketing Officer. “Did you see the new assortment box?” questions a coworker. The all-things-greeting-cards atmosphere combined with the enthusiasm of our employees are surefire ways to produce a quality product that I personally love to talk about.

So when my boss asked me to write for our greeting card blog, I decided that my love of greeting cards was the perfect topic. Greeting cards are a wonderful way to connect with people, and I’ll share a tip…I save and reuse cards too. I cut up the cards with great pictures and use them as gift tags or presents. This is a terrific way to reuse a paper product, and anything friendly for the environment can’t be a bad thing.

Sending corporate get well cards has become somewhat of a tradition at my company. So when I was home sick with bronchitis for two weeks, it felt so good to receive get well cards from my co-workers. I will always remember and cherish the feeling of caring and compassion I felt when I needed it most.

After I was back to work and feeling better, I ordered some personal greeting cards to keep at home. I feel it is very important to have a handy supply of get well cards so that I can send out a personal greeting as soon as I hear about a friend or relative who is not well. Get well cards show that you have other people’s best interests at heart. These greeting cards also let your friends and loved ones know they’re missed and needed. Sometimes the reassurance of a get well message can brighten someone’s day by simply showing them that you care.

It’s fast and easy to find the perfect card when you have your own personal greeting cards at home. So many times we have good intentions and think of others when they are sick but don’t take the time to send greeting cards. Now that I have my own supply of get well cards, I feel I am always ready to send a quick note to my friends, letting them know that I miss them and I hope they get well soon.