Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Pick a Card, Any Card

It's that time of year again....graduations, weddings. If I could take the money I've spent on shower and wedding gifts over the past couple of years, I could fund my own wedding!

My trip this weekend to the local Target was to obtain some graduation cards and a couple of wedding cards. I don't buy greeting cards a lot for a couple of reasons. One, I send online greetings a lot...they are interactive, fun, and can be delivered exactly on the day of the event, unlike the postal service that seems to have problems with efficient delivery at times. Second, I belong to a really cool card club that sends me a package of assorted greeting cards every six weeks or so for much less than what I'd pay for them at the store. But, there comes times when I need a card "on demand" and an online card just won't do.

So, I strolled over to the wedding section and found lots of great cards, all appropriate for the different wedding scenarios I was celebrating. Thankfully I have yet to see cards celebrating homosexual unions. I may just scream out loud at the store if that day comes. As I was walking over to the graduation section, I noticed a few odd cards....the headings read "Loss of Pet"..."Thanks for Pet Sitting." Now, I'm an animal lover, so no hate mail from ASPCA or PETA, but goodness, do you really want to pay $3 for a pet sympathy card?

My next visit was to the graduation section. My amazement with specificity grew as I saw graduation cards for every occasion...Middle School graduation (you have those??), College Graduation, Grad School Graduation, the MBA Graduate.....cards for Her, cards for Him...religious cards. With my choices expanded, a decision became even more difficult. I can't figure out if the motive of the card publishers is to make you buy multiple cards and decide later, or just to drive us crazy. At $2-$3 a pop, I'm in the wrong business!

My point is....someone needs to scream, "Serenity Now!"....I fully expect to see "Sorry you had a flat tire on your way to your honeymoon" cards...."Congratulations on the Severance Package from your Layoff!" cards... and "Let's Celebrate the Launch of Your Blog!" cards. The world continues to amaze me.

3 comments:

Kevin Yates said...

I just dont buy or send cards...that eliminates all of that :).

my parents and i have an understanding even. i call. birthdays, mothers/fathers days, holidays...they get some phone time with their long lost son that moved out of state :).

That to me is more personal than buying a card anyway, and it keeps me from having to give money to the stinkin' card companies.

Anonymous said...

i agree. the card companies try to make you think you have to send a card for everything. that's the reason we have things like valentine's day and "sweetest day" in the first place

Anonymous said...

Kevin and AJ need to call my Mother and explain their logic to her. I am having no luck, and continue to support the employees of Hallmark, et al...because of the manipulative guilt trip I have to deal with if I don't...:O) (send cards...)