Every year without fail I would get a birthday card from all my grandparents, my parents, and my friends and every year I would put those cards in a special place and kept them safe.

Every year I would get a card for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. You name it and a card was sent from either one of my grandparents or parents. Each card was carefully selected just for me and then sent out with love. And each of those cards joined those that came before it and put in the special place where all my cards were stored.

To this day I have cards that stretch back more than 20 years and each one of them holds a special place in my heart. Once in a while I pull them out and look through them… remembering my grandma through her perfect signature on each card or the special holidays that I missed spending with my dad because my parents were divorced. Each card reminds me of how much each of them loved me and it warms my heart.

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I love getting something in the mail other than a the normal junk mail and of course the bills (who doesn’t?). I like that someone took the time to think of me and that they went out of their way to get a card that spoke to them.

I also love sending cards and little notes to my friends and family and hope that they get enjoyment out of them as well. I hope that it brightens their day a little bit when they open the mail box and see that envelope addressed to them, by hand. I hope that they know how special they are to me.

I know that there is a card for every occasion. Birthday, holidays, weddings, and everything in between. Without a doubt I can always find that special card I’m looking for no matter what it’s for.

A while ago Hallmark gave me along with other writers from Just Be Enough, some cards for their Get Carded Challenge. The Get Carded Challenge was part of Hallmark’s Life is a Special Occasion campaign, which encourages all of us to push the “pause” button on the blur of daily life and think about the beauty of unplanned, perfectly imperfect moments we share with those who mean the most to us.

Going through all the cards that I was sent made me smile as I read each one and planned out who I would send each of them to. I knew that my friends and family would love them… and I was right. The calls, tweets, and messages I was sent all confirmed what I already knew. I brought a smile to their faces and made their days a little more enjoyable! Mission complete.

Do you still send cards out for birthday, holidays, or any day?

**Hallmark provided cards to use with the Get Carded challenge. No compensation was received for this post.  All opinions are my own.