The Perfect Greeting Card

When I was ten years old, my father was hospitalized with a life threatening case of pneumonia.  For three days we didn't know if he would live or die.  He lived, but developed complications that required he be hospitalized for almost two months.  

I missed him terribly.  In those days (the early 1960's) children my age could not visit their hospitalized parents, at least in the VA hospital in the Bronx where he was being cared for.

So I did the next best thing.  I spent my days making get well cards for him.  As time passed, they became more and more elaborate.  I poured my heart and soul into them.  My mother, in turn, would bring the cards to him when she visited him.

I wish I had even one of those cards.  I am curious to know what they looked like and what they said.  I only have vague memories of the content of the cards, although I have clear memories of some of the other things my Mom and I did together as we waited for my Dad to return home.  What I do know is, they were filled with love, and my creativity flourished as I designed each card.

Fast forward almost fifty years.

I am looking for the perfect greeting cards for several people I know.

A Nice Card Cover?

The cards are for people with serious illnesses. They are meant to let the person know he/she is not forgotten, and that I am thinking of them.  Short, sweet and not smelling of "you, the recipient, know from the wording that you are doomed."

I would rather buy the cards locally.  There is a company called Cardthartic whose cards I particularly enjoy, but the local dealers seem to stock mostly birthday cards.
Then, one day, I thought of those long ago cards for my Dad.  Shouldn't I be writing my own greeting cards?

Just as I did 50 years ago.

So, I have bought some blank cards with nice covers.  I am not trying to compete with Hallmark, but I am a writer, after all.   I should be able to write a line or two.

I do wish, though, that there was a nice line of cards, easy to purchase, for times like this.