Greeting Cards

I found myself today at the CVS Pharmacy, where I had gone to buy cough drops for my never-ending cough-due-to-allergies. After I put the cough drops in the basket, I wandered over to the greeting card aisle. I am one of those people who, upon finding a great card or two (or three or four), buys several of each, even if its no one's birthday or holiday. Who knows when you will need a card at the drop of a hat, because you forgot a birthday, or remembered the day before Father's Day you never did get around to going to the pharmacy or bookstore to buy a card. The real reason I buy cards ahead of time is not because I'm organized. Its because I'm forever forgetful of dates. Doctor appointments, birthday parties, I even missed the Fourth of July one year. I have graduation cards, sympathy cards, birthday cards, Father's Day cards, Easter cards and Valentines, which I keep on hand, because...well, you never know when you'll need one. I hate going to buy a card the day before the event only to find that the only cards left are the "sucky" ones (an adjective a young friend recently used in a conversation with me).

And so, there I stood today, in front of the greeting card display. I had been here only the other day, a week ago in fact. I had just found out that a friend of mine had lost her 19 year old son a while back (I had just found out) so I was buying a card for my friend and stocking up on sympathy cards that I found and liked. I found a card that I really liked, so I bought three of them. Little did I know that the next day I would find out that Tim, one of my closest friends, had suddenly died, at the young age of 49. And so, I found myself back at the greeting card rack today, in the sympathy section once again. I needed at least four sympathy cards - one for Tim's parents, one for his son, and one for his siblings, plus the one for my friend. I found two very nice sympathy cards and I bought two of each. Because, you never know when you are going to need a really great card.