I just finished a card and wanted to share it with you guys. Most of the cards I see on crafting and blog sites are meant for happy times (birthdays, holidays and "just because" days). Well, a few days ago my mom asked me to make a card for her friend. I puffed up with pride and agreed in an instant (by the way, this is only the 3rd card I've made, but I figured it would be easy-peasy). When my mom explained that it was for a friend of hers who was diagnosed with terminal stage cancer and given 1-4 months to live, my heart plummeted.
What kind of card would be appropriate for this situation? I didn't want to be too peppy and optimistic ("Get Well Soon" is just a slap in the face here) but I also didn't know how to say, "I'm so sorry you're dying," without being depressive about it. Since her friend was a hippie in the 60's, we decided to go with a modified version of a peace, love and happiness theme. Her friend was also a Grateful Dead fan (honestly, who isn't??), so we added lyrics to "Truckin" on the card.
The lyrics to Truckin swirl around the peace sign. The words we used were:
"Truckin, got my chips cashed in. Keep truckin, like the do-dah man. Together, more or less in line. Just keep truckin on. Sometimes the lights all shining on me; other times I can barely see. Lately, it occurs to me, what a long, strange trip it's been... Truckin, I'm goin home. Whoa, baby back where I belong. Back home, sit down and patch my bones, and get back truckin on... get back truckin home."
The inside inscription is "Peace, Love, and Happiness on your walk with Jesus."
In the end, I think the card strikes a poignant balance between good times and bad, and I hope it provides some small measure of comfort during the receiver's difficult journey.
Hopefully this card will inspire you to think outside the box and make cards for the difficult times, as well as the fun and easy times.
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