Just so you know, there was a reason behind every card range I have ever written. I nearly always had someone in mind or some situation in mind – so please know that they are very real to everyday situations and everyday lives.
The “Because I Care” range evolved because in my life I genuinely wanted people to know that I care about them. Their situations probably just triggered words in me that I wanted them to know but deep down I understood that they were absolutely not the only people going through these situations, we have a world of people who are probably going through the same things (at least at some stage in their lives).
In the “Because I Care” range, I have 8 different cards, let me tell you about each of them:
Mother: Obviously I wrote this for my own mother whom I love very much. As a girl with her mum, sometimes I’ve rebelled and yes, we’ve clashed – but she’s mine, she’s my mother and I know for sure that she, more than anyone else has my back and will always have, she will never walk away from me, this woman is like a tigress with her children. Nothing escapes her, she knows how we’re feeling every minute of every day because she reared us. I can never hide from her and I never want to, she is the only woman who knows me to the very depths of my soul.
Father: Well, the words on this card tell my own dad everything he needs to know about how I feel about him. Dad is the backbone of our family, always kind, always wise, always caring. He loved us all unconditionally, supporting us, giving us our leeway, letting us have our opinion. I don’t think in all my life I will ever meet such a good man. I am blessed to call this man my father, my hero, my rock and my anchor.
Life: Well…. Who doesn’t go through tough times in life? Unless you’re truly blessed, something (unfortunately) crops up at some stage. I wrote this card for my friend Karen. She was going through absolute hell with the break up of her marriage and the disappearance of her husband. This girl was left, on her own, to deal with courts, her kids and trying to manage to hold everything together. I’m actually in awe of the strength she subsequently displayed, I’m not sure I would have been able to do what she did. I wrote this card because I needed her to know that I had her back, that I would be there with her every step of the way. We’ve had lots of tears on that journey but we’ve also shared lots of laughs. I know that she is going to step up and out of despair and dismay, that she will not only change her own life but will change the lives of so many women in similar situations, I’m just waiting to see that happen and guess what, this friend will be on the sidelines cheering this woman on like no other.
Loss: Life is inevitable, unfortunately, we all lose someone we love so much in our lives and how can we convey it? It’s not easy, is it? I just wrote this card so that hopefully people will remember that those they love can never really leave them, the love can never be taken from their heart and absolutely no-one can take the precious memories away. Loss is never easy – we need to love and care for those going through it
Kindness: There are just some people in this world who inspire hope in you – people who genuinely care and want to help. I actually sent this card this evening to a very dear friend, who also happens to be a solicitor. This man had my back when the world seemed so bleak at one stage, he never let go of me, he never let me drown. I actually didn’t have the words to say to him when I sat down to write him a letter but then I pulled this card and it said everything that needed to be said. Forever, I hope there are kind people in the world – they are the people who make the difference.
Friend: I wrote this card with my friend Patricia in mind. We had worked for so many years together and had so many laughs along the way. We also had the serious work conversations/meetings that needed to be had but we formed such a very special bond. We live at opposite ends of the country but we’ve had girlie holidays that can never be repeated and memories that can never be erased. We really don’t see each other often enough now but when we do, the time lapse doesn’t matter – we know we will always be friends forever.
Love: This card is for my husband and for all those husbands/partners/wives out there that this card relates to. Our next anniversary is 30 years together and life surely shows you ups and downs. We have had to deal with the death of our child which either could have made us or broke us – I think at this stage, we’ve pulled together and are in it for the long haul. But then every relationship has something and at some time we all have to have the other person’s back, we have to be there, we have to hold each other up – this is life. I hope you all have someone to love and who loves you back.
Sympathy: At the time of writing this range, one of our own, an Irish girl called Karen Buckley from Cork was murdered in Scotland. I remember feeling so bad about this and ultimately this card was all I could write to her parents. I didn’t know them, I didn’t know Karen and I didn’t know what words to send so I wrote this card, letting them know that although I didn’t know them, that I deeply cared. We set up an agreement with the local Parish Centre that anyone could go in and choose any one of my cards, free of charge, so that we could send them on to Karen’s family. I have no way of knowing how that helped or even if it did, but I hope they know that people genuinely cared for them and were thinking and praying for them.