Send a Card to a Friend Day

“Do we really need a special day to remind us to do this,” I asked myself?

Then as I was rummaging around in my guest room closet looking for the jewelry I thought was missing in the upheaval of a yearlong remodel, I came across two boxes of greeting cards. One was stuffed with cards I have picked up along the way to send for the right occasion, and the other was packed with seventeen envelopes labeled and stamped. Seven of them to people who have died.

I poured myself a cup of tea and opened one of them. It was to my dear friend from the old neighborhood, Hayes Barnes. Inside was a beautiful card decorated with a delicate cut out picture of glittering doves perched on holly branches against a background of falling snow. The blessing of Peace, Joy, Love in gold letters displayed beneath the frame.

There was a typed letter inside with an apology that I had neglected to attend to the people I held dear in my heart and acknowledging that I had been absent from his life - and my own. It spoke of missing important events, like my niece Aisha’s wedding the past Summer, or celebrating my baptism in 2009. It ended with Happy 2011, and a handwritten footnote that I still had the angel card he sent to me many years ago, and I hoped to see him soon.

I never saw him again.

It hurts to know that after taking the time to write to each person in my now decade-old pile of unsent cards, I had failed to take the final step in giving them their flowers.

Why was that?

Aside from the fact that I have had a chronic habit of not exposing my heart to people I love - there are more ‘why not’s’ beneath that - I have had a habit of not finishing.

Yet another layer of the onion to peel back.

For people like me who don’t take the time to do the things that are small but significant, a national “Send a Card to a Friend Day” may be just the thing to break the cycle. To insert intention into the habit of missing your moments, this is the core ingredient to living life on purpose.

So, take a moment, root around in your card box or create your own doodle, but put pen to paper and send a card to a friend today.

Cultivate the habit of giving the people you love their flowers now while they can still savor the fragrance.