A century of caring...

Christmas came early this year. Look what just arrived in the mail...

Yes, that is indeed a beautiful coffee-table book, published in honor of Hallmark's 100th anniversary. I first saw this book about a month ago when I was browsing in a Hallmark store in north Phoenix. I eventually ordered a copy from my favorite online retailer and justified it by the fact that 1) I LOVE Hallmark and have been wanting to know more about the history of the company (and if this book isn't for people like me--who's it for?!), and 2) I had a crazy month with work/classes and decided I needed a treat (plus, I've been better about checking books out from the library, rather than buying every book I want!). And, the seal to the deal was that the book comes with a DVD that includes, appropriately, one of my favorite Hallmark Hall of Fame movies, as well as the story of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. I also found this blog post from the Hallmark site talking about the inception of the book (originally planned solely as a gift for Hallmark employees!).

I've only just scratched the surface of the book which is divided like a timeline. But the forward, by Maya Angelou (who has a line of cards with Hallmark), is especially touching and I wanted to quote a portion of it here:

My mother left California to visit me in North Carolina. I invited her into my office, and there, my mail had been separated into piles of letters and piles of greeting cards. As I sat with my secretary dictating responses to the letters I received, my mother looked at the large basket filled with greeting cards. She interrupted my dictation, asking in a very sweet voice, "Baby, are you saving these cards for later?"

I said, "Yes."

She asked, "Why?"

I said, "Because people who really wanted answers had sat down and written letters, so I respond to them immediately. These cards have simply been bought and the sender did not have to think of what their messages were. They bought them, signed them, and sent them to me, and I will get around to answering them."

My mother's voice became very quiet. She asked me, "Do you realize the pains it takes to send off a card? First the sender must want to communicate with you, but may find it impossible to say what needs to be said in an elegant and direct way. So, the sender goes into a card store in comfortable shoes, because the selection may take half-hour or longer. The sender reads through thirty or forty cards before finding the one which fits the occasion. The sender pays for the card, signs the card and addresses the envelope, goes to the Post Office, puts a stamp on it and sends it off. Don't you think that is enough to warrant your attention?"

This is why I love sending cards--sometimes I just don't have the right words to say, or know the right things to do, but I want to demonstrate that I care--and what folks do with the card after they receive it doesn't really matter. For me, it's a situation where the gift, and personal blessing, is in the giving.