Ho Hey, It's All In the Cards

A Sunday Amen...

Card to husband | 2017

Greeting cards that is…

Call me sentimental and I’ll agree. Call me overly sentimental and I’ll concur with vigor, knowing I must keep forging forward, not backwards, making sure no one kills me when I’m gone.

But then… I’ll be gone.

I’ve been going through boxes of past greeting cards, most of them while limping along with a cold, allergies, and a fractured toe bone, which is a pleasant combination.

Don’t know about you, but when out of sorts, it’s easier to be misty-eyed.

What a gift to find our dating cards, first year married, consistently beautiful, meaningful cards throughout our years together. I know cards are expensive, still, when one thinks of the effort, time, words, they are treasures to behold.

There are “other” family cards in the piles, divided by the years. Telling a story of love, appreciation, joy, excitement, anticipation and kindness, I wondered how could things have gone so wrong? When we left our family home for a new downsized adventure the piles of collected cards became much smaller and then there were hardly any from 2020 forward.

2020 was the year of a world category five hurricane. It was everything I thought it was. Spiritual. Still is.

Although the world war is not over, I am assured that the words expressed, during our toughest years raising a family, working hard, driving, flying in all directions was a gift for today. Timing is never ours. It’s His. Open the boxes, read the cards. It was a different time, but a time that can be treasured, poised toward a better future. A time that might not contain us, but rather the hope of a generation to come.

I know this from opening the untossed cards and letters that John’s mom kept. They painted a very different picture to the one she often described, keeping us from fully understanding her parents.

If you have years of family cards, save them in one big box. Mark it “Treasures - read and toss if you like.”

You might have been unphased during the pandemic. I would consider that a miracle. Beyond a blessing. I have met and spoke with many, many people, families, that were deeply affected.

I’m taking a great gamble.. the cards could tell an entirely different sentiment than the one told during the world’s greatest storm.

So show me family
all the blood that I will bleed
I don't know where I belong
I don't know where I went wrong
but I can write a song

I belong with you, you belong with me.

- "Ho Hey"
Songwriters: Jeremy Fraites/Wesley Schultz