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Sunday, June 6, 2010

Hallmark and other Greeting cards

Before Christmas I remember watching a television commercial for greeting cards. The gist of the commercial was that If you were suffering economically you could still let your loved ones know that you cared by shelling out for a greeting card.
At the time I thought it was a dumb commercial but a few weeks ago I was standing in the card aisle along with so many others. Pulling cards, reading, returning. I thought my dilemma was a tough one....finding the perfect card for my mom and a card for my stepmother. Standing next to me was a young couple with a gurgling infant who were as intent upon their task of two mothers, grandmothers, and a card to the new mommy from the gurgler. It came home to me how much time and care most people put into selecting the perfect card. So mu cynicism came back to bite me on the ass.
Next Sunday is fathers day. Selecting a card for my father has always been hard. My parents divorced before divorce was popular. The idea for weekend fathers had not yet been established. So Dad was a guy that we seen around town, I would head out to his place a couple of times a year for an obligatory visit. Boxing day was always reserved for Dad. The cards for Dad from the princess who learned to dance by standing on Daddys feet were totally inappropriate.
In spite of the fact that our father daughter relationship was not played out in a Hallmark fashion, at the end of the day the sentiment is the same. There is nothing that can compare to the feeling of being buried in Dads hug, his kiss on the cheek, his choked whisper telling me that he loved me.
This will be the second year that I am not sending a card to Dad. He died on March 13, 2009. When I am in the Drug Store, or the Department Store, and I see people standing in front of the newly erected display of Fathers Day Cards I cant help but feel cheated.