Feb. 5, 2021 — This weekend, as the polar vortex bears down and you find yourself with some time to curl up and honor some emotions, here’s a heart-warming question for you: How would you like to be remembered?
Back nearly 25 years now, a pipsqueak called Cardthartic was featured in The Wall Street Journal. I still remember how patient and encouraging reporter Wendy Bounds was with newbie me, so I was delighted to discover last year that she’d gone on to write a touching book, Little Chapel on the River: A Pub, a Town and the Search for What Matters Most.
As I described in a Cardie Newsletter last September, I emailed Wendy saying how much I’d enjoyed her book and admired the strength and versatility of her writing. I noted that, since she had interviewed thousands of people between then and now, she may not remember me, but that I’d remembered her as such a responsive and considerate journalist.
Wendy wrote back the next day, “It’s how we’re remembered that lets us know how we lived.” Such a powerful statement prompted me to stop and ponder. Then I read on, “I’m very touched by your assessment of me as a journalist. And I remember you as one of the most determined, enthusiastic and self-aware business owners I ever interviewed.”
I was so taken with her first line — It’s how we’re remembered that lets us know how we lived — that I asked Wendy if we might publish it. I explained that we wanted to flip the phrase around to become the moving condolence message you see above, “How we live is how we’ll be remembered.” Because in her book she’d written so fondly of the pub owner and patriarch, Jim Guinan, who took her under his wing, we agreed the card would inside read, “We’ll remember him well” and be dedicated to him.
The gorgeous image you see immediately came to mind … it was one I’d loved at first sight and filed a year or so before, trusting that just the right message would one day come along. And so it did.
Many years from now, may we all be remembered for doing everything we could to keep ourselves and those who love and count on us safe, healthy and happy, while finding ways to keep moving ever onward. And for doing what Cardies so naturally and beautifully do: Make the world a better place, one card, one kindness at a time. At Cardthartic, we admire and appreciate you.
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
Dearest Fairy Cardmother … Sending love and appreciation back to y’all at Cardthartic.
Such a beautiful message. It is one we teach our children and try to live each day. I am pretty sure that you, fearless leader, are doing the same, Thank you too for sharing the early days of Cardthartic and of Wendy Bounds’ article and book.
What a bright spot in my day to see the mention of “Little Chapel on the River:……..” by Wendy Bounds. I just finished reading it!! It is a warm and engaging story, chronicling the legacy of a beloved place and the characters who inhabit it. And it appears you have married the perfect image with the best quote. I’ll be ordering a few for sure. Thank you for your thoughtful dedication to your business. It’s appreciated!
When I read the words of this beautiful card I thought of my uncle. He adored and nurtured my soul at times in my young life when I needed it most. I try to pass on these gifts that he gave me wholeheartedly. The words in the card are perfect “How we live is how we’ll be remembered. We’ll remember him well.” He passed away 21 years ago and I remember his kindness & caring well & they live on in me. Your efforts of creating cards that turn into small acts of kindness when exchanged between people makes a difference in this world.