It's been a bit since I sat down to write here ... we have just returned from a week at the Gaylord Texan where my husband was at a conference...

I was thinking about greeting cards this week... we have a number of birthdays and anniversaries that occur among friends and family this month (August) and I am sadly not as good as was my mother about sending greeting cards... not that I don't intend to do so, but I forget to buy them before the day of the occasion, and then I shrug and say "I'll just drop an email" or "I'll say happy birthday on Facebook"...

But think about it. There are still times and people for whom a real greeting card is better - and well appreciated.

Certainly people older than 50 appreciate real greeting cards (and real hand-written notes too). They like to receive them and display them. They are not as excited about the e-greetings of the electronic generation, even if they are more eco-friendly.

People who are ill or in the hospital, or home recovering from injury or surgery, like to have those paper cards to sit or hang around the room to remind them of the people who think of them, pray for them, and care about them. It brings them warmth and cheer, especially when friends and family members are farther away.

When there is a death, it is once again a time for that hard-copy card that brings sympathy and thoughts and prayers to the bereaved. They too can be displayed or just piled in a basket - just the sight of that collection of good wishes can bring comfort.

Weddings always seem a time for cards, as well as graduations and confirmations. Really - any time a gift is appropriate so is a greeting card.

I have a friend who is so thoughtful about cards - she sends them at all the right times - thinking of you cards and get well cards that are sent when needed, and holiday cards that arrive just at the right time. And they are cards with just the right words, almost as though the card has been created just for the occasion and recipient.

My mother used to buy tons of cards. New home cards, for instance, were always difficult to find, so when she found one she liked she'd buy several to keep on hand. Thinking of you cards were another - she would buy one of every one she liked on the shelf when she was at the store.

So I have decided to once again pull out all those cards that are still here from my mother. I have them sorted by occasion. They will be placed where I can easily grab them and send them. Then I will begin to adopt her habit of grazing through the cards at the store and picking out ones that will be good to have on hand. I will have my letter-carrier husband replenish my supply of Forever Stamps, and I will once again begin to send cards at the appropriate times.

Think about it - don't you have cards you have really enjoyed - even kept?

Oh - and when you receive cards that you aren't going to store away - find crafty people who need the fronts for projects! then toss the other part in the recycling...

More another day - there are cards to address!