Apr 8, 2025 – This sweet and so-true design reminds me of Contributing Cardie Lauren Rowell as she’s so loving and has shared that her happy place is “snuggling with the kitty cat.”
In her usual gorgeous, authentic way, Lauren wrote in a note to me a few weeks ago, “The enormity of all that is happening in the world — with all the wild twists and turns — is hard to take in. And the easiest (or perhaps less painful) thing for me to do would be to just tune everything out. But my heart can’t forget or disregard the vulnerable, so I keep looking for ways to love, serve, and empower those at most risk in my area.
“How do you handle these times?” she wondered. “How do you respond to the ‘too muchness’ of it all?” she asked. Then signed the note, “Feeling overwhelmed, but trying to keep my heart open,” and enclosed confirmation that a donation had been made in my name to her local food bank. 💜
As I’ve shared with her and here before, one of my most effective ways to handle stress is to jump in our community pool, which I did yesterday when I felt my every muscle was so tight from tension that I could barely move. I waved to the lifeguard when I hopped in and had to laugh at the memory of another tense time years ago. That day, the lap lanes were all blessedly vacant, just that attentive guy on his throne above me doing a leisurely Australian crawl below. I called up to him, “Do you think if I were to scream underwater, you could hear me?” He grinned and said, “Only one way to find out.”
What we found out is that even a blood-curdling yell cannot be heard by anyone else when you let loose underwater and, needless to say, that letting loose frees up a good deal of pent-up emotion.
It was Cardie Marcia Rockwood who once shared, “I have what I call my anxiety toolbox. First, I imagine what the worst scenario could be and what the best could be, and somehow, facing all the potential outcomes of an issue helps calm me down. Then, I focus on fun things, like baking and cooking, as I enjoy feeding people. And lastly, but no less important, I send cards with upbeat news and corny little stories, and our Fairy Cardmother is a huge help there! (As I wait impatiently for my latest batch of cards 😉)”
On a Cardie Newsletter last summer, Contributing Cardie Rosie Tolliver commented, “I recently had a good, long, phone conversation with a dear friend who goes back 50 years to high school. We now live states away and she spends her days lovingly caring for her husband, who is in poor health. When we spoke, she told me about another good friend she has made, a fellow choir member who lost her husband last year. She shared that the kind woman had said to her, ‘If you ever need to, call me and just breathe into the phone, I’ll know it’s you. You won’t even have to talk. We can just be quiet together.’”
Cardie Madeline Stockbridge posted her own comment just below. “Rosie’s friend who said, ‘Just call and breathe into the phone’ really touched me. As I’ve shared with the Cardie Community in the past, I’ve been having challenges with cancer, and during one of the scary times, our Pastor called me, prayed with me, and then just sat silently on the phone to let me know I was not alone. So powerful.”
“For me, prayer provides a virtual hug to help me become unstuck,” shared Contributing Cardie Susan Lyon. “Here is a portion of a prayer my friend Mitzie shared: God, I come to You burdened with worries, fears, doubts, and troubles. Calm and quiet me with peace of mind. Empty me of the anxiety that disturbs me, of the concerns that weary my spirit and weigh heavy on my heart. Loosen my grip on the disappointments and grievances I hold on to so tightly. Let Your love set me free, for peace, for joy, for grace, for life, for others, forever. Amen.”
Contributing Cardie Penny Schiller related, “There’s something special about how my body quiets when I sit down to write a card. Muscles relax and my mind settles a bit and I get an almost euphoric feeling — like a combination of love and imagination are about to somehow be channeled into my pen. And, oh, my, to open up a mailbox and find a handwritten card … pure joy! I’ve been fortunate to have had many friends that enjoy writing cards as much as I do and I’m thankful I presently have a group of friends who regularly send notes of comfort as well as joy.”
Lauren followed up that post with, “Penny, your comment about having Cardie friends reminded me of a fun realization I had recently. I have a friend who is an author and she was sharing Top Five lists of things and asking us to share on the topics as well. One of the topics was ‘Things I Inadvertently Collect.’ Her list included things like sweaters, journals, and fun eyeglasses. I struggled to come up with something … until it came to me: Card Recipients!
“My Cardie profile mentions that I’m always on the lookout for someone who needs that extra bit of love or recognition,” Lauren explained. “In my experience, potential card recipients are everywhere — people I know well, those I’ve only interacted with in passing, and some I’ve never even met at all. As an introvert, card sending is the way I’ve found to spread love far and wide. Much love to the whole Cardie community. This is my favorite neighborhood to hang out in!”
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
Apr 8, 2025 – This sweet and so-true design reminds me of Contributing Cardie Lauren Rowell as she’s so loving and has shared that her happy place is “snuggling with the kitty cat.”
In her usual gorgeous, authentic way, Lauren wrote in a note to me a few weeks ago, “The enormity of all that is happening in the world — with all the wild twists and turns — is hard to take in. And the easiest (or perhaps less painful) thing for me to do would be to just tune everything out. But my heart can’t forget or disregard the vulnerable, so I keep looking for ways to love, serve, and empower those at most risk in my area.
“How do you handle these times?” she wondered. “How do you respond to the ‘too muchness’ of it all?” she asked. Then signed the note, “Feeling overwhelmed, but trying to keep my heart open,” and enclosed confirmation that a donation had been made in my name to her local food bank. 💜
As I’ve shared with her and here before, one of my most effective ways to handle stress is to jump in our community pool, which I did yesterday when I felt my every muscle was so tight from tension that I could barely move. I waved to the lifeguard when I hopped in and had to laugh at the memory of another tense time years ago. That day, the lap lanes were all blessedly vacant, just that attentive guy on his throne above me doing a leisurely Australian crawl below. I called up to him, “Do you think if I were to scream underwater, you could hear me?” He grinned and said, “Only one way to find out.”
What we found out is that even a blood-curdling yell cannot be heard by anyone else when you let loose underwater and, needless to say, that letting loose frees up a good deal of pent-up emotion.
It was Cardie Marcia Rockwood who once shared, “I have what I call my anxiety toolbox. First, I imagine what the worst scenario could be and what the best could be, and somehow, facing all the potential outcomes of an issue helps calm me down. Then, I focus on fun things, like baking and cooking, as I enjoy feeding people. And lastly, but no less important, I send cards with upbeat news and corny little stories, and our Fairy Cardmother is a huge help there! (As I wait impatiently for my latest batch of cards 😉)”
On a Cardie Newsletter last summer, Contributing Cardie Rosie Tolliver commented, “I recently had a good, long, phone conversation with a dear friend who goes back 50 years to high school. We now live states away and she spends her days lovingly caring for her husband, who is in poor health. When we spoke, she told me about another good friend she has made, a fellow choir member who lost her husband last year. She shared that the kind woman had said to her, ‘If you ever need to, call me and just breathe into the phone, I’ll know it’s you. You won’t even have to talk. We can just be quiet together.’”
Cardie Madeline Stockbridge posted her own comment just below. “Rosie’s friend who said, ‘Just call and breathe into the phone’ really touched me. As I’ve shared with the Cardie Community in the past, I’ve been having challenges with cancer, and during one of the scary times, our Pastor called me, prayed with me, and then just sat silently on the phone to let me know I was not alone. So powerful.”
“For me, prayer provides a virtual hug to help me become unstuck,” shared Contributing Cardie Susan Lyon. “Here is a portion of a prayer my friend Mitzie shared: God, I come to You burdened with worries, fears, doubts, and troubles. Calm and quiet me with peace of mind. Empty me of the anxiety that disturbs me, of the concerns that weary my spirit and weigh heavy on my heart. Loosen my grip on the disappointments and grievances I hold on to so tightly. Let Your love set me free, for peace, for joy, for grace, for life, for others, forever. Amen.”
Contributing Cardie Penny Schiller related, “There’s something special about how my body quiets when I sit down to write a card. Muscles relax and my mind settles a bit and I get an almost euphoric feeling — like a combination of love and imagination are about to somehow be channeled into my pen. And, oh, my, to open up a mailbox and find a handwritten card … pure joy! I’ve been fortunate to have had many friends that enjoy writing cards as much as I do and I’m thankful I presently have a group of friends who regularly send notes of comfort as well as joy.”
Lauren followed up that post with, “Penny, your comment about having Cardie friends reminded me of a fun realization I had recently. I have a friend who is an author and she was sharing Top Five lists of things and asking us to share on the topics as well. One of the topics was ‘Things I Inadvertently Collect.’ Her list included things like sweaters, journals, and fun eyeglasses. I struggled to come up with something … until it came to me: Card Recipients!
“My Cardie profile mentions that I’m always on the lookout for someone who needs that extra bit of love or recognition,” Lauren explained. “In my experience, potential card recipients are everywhere — people I know well, those I’ve only interacted with in passing, and some I’ve never even met at all. As an introvert, card sending is the way I’ve found to spread love far and wide. Much love to the whole Cardie community. This is my favorite neighborhood to hang out in!”
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
Like Lauren, fellow introvert, I have what I call my “card ministry.” Each week I send out several cards, knowing the recipients will get a comforting surprise in the mail while I also feel comforted, sending them out. Thank you, Fairy Card mother and crew!
When I am upset, which is far too often lately, I call my therapist.
I call my lifelong friend, Madeline, ‘my therapist’ because she is always there to listen when I need someone to hear me.
We will all live a longer, healthier life if we are lucky enough to have a friend whose kindness & compassion is the best therapy of all.
To ‘pay’ her back I send her cards throughout the year to express how special she is to me. She is a cardie so there is no greater gift than cards ;)
Thank you so much for this bit of sunshine in my inbox. I feel the love and warmth through the shared words.
Thank you:)
So honored to have my words shared amongst such a community of incredible people. Life has been very challenging lately – so this CNews was just what I needed as well. To breathing deep, praying much, and pressing on – together.
Such an inspirational newsletter, Jodee, thank you. I especially like the prayer that Susan Lyon’s friend Mitzie shared. I’m missing one of my favorite ways to find peace, our yoga class. I had MOHS treatment on a skin cancer on my face and the instructions said, no yoga for 2 weeks. I’m bummed. As Candy shared in her comment, we reach out to each other for moral support, venting and laughing, the trifecta. I’m grateful for this caring community as well.
I so appreciated this beautiful newsletter Jodee, and the caring community you have created through Cardthartic.
These are certainly trying times. We had a decent crowd at our Hands Off rally on Saturday. I was a bit discouraged that there was no press coverage in our small town though; the below post alleviated that disappointment. I hope it will be helpful to others as well!
https://thewhitepages.net/p/why-the-protests-mattered?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=38ddn&triedRedirect=true
I so appreciated this beautiful newsletter Jodee, and the caring community you have created through Cardthartic.
These are certainly trying times. We had a decent crowd at our Hands Off rally on Saturday. I was a bit discouraged that there was no press coverage in our small town though; the below post alleviated that disappointment. I hope it will be helpful to others as well!
https://thewhitepages.net/p/why-the-protests-mattered?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=38ddn&triedRedirect=true
Another beautiful, meaningful, and timely newsletter. Thank you. I loved the words Lauren wrote when she said that she tried to keep her heart open. On the days when the news lays particularly heavy on my heart and soul, I make a conscious effort to try and notice all the good things in my life throughout the day. It may be spotting a bright cardinal in the tree or having a particularly friendly cashier at the grocery or taking the time to read about how an organization is feeding the hungry or helping the immigrants – and then making a donation to that organization. And reading stories from my fellow Cardies is also uplifting! I am aware that the bad things are still going on but it is important to me that I don’t let them hide all the good that is still in this world.
I learn so much from you Jodee but I also learn from other Cardies and today’s comments and reflections were no exception. I have a bedtime list called my “Gratitude List” that gives me closure and peace at bedtime and stills my mind. I concur with others who feel stressed by our world right now . . . so I may have to move my bedtime list to a midday Gratitude List — a sort of “toolbox” like Cardie Marcia suggested. Thank you for that idea. I also take Iphone photos of the cards I send and to whom including the messages — it balances me and reminds me how precious kind words are. I do have some favorite cards I buy again . . . and again . . . and again! Thank heavens for Cardthartic :-)
I know I’m late to the table here, but I wanted to comment on Lauren’s lovely sentiment – “keep my heart open”-I love that phrase and the message and hope Lauren won’t mind if I borrow it occasionally…and of course, always good to hear from Mad.
Cape Cod has had the bleakest of springs, and the Cardie newsletter arrived to cheer me on a very cold and gray day. Life has been a struggle~it’s like being trapped in a car driving with Grandpa, changing lanes without looking or signaling …. every day…. all day….. day in and day out. Must be time to calm myself and send a card….onward!