Congratulations

A week ago we needed a card. A “Congratulations” card. I went to the drawer in my desk where I keep my collection of cards, ready to pick and go.

I have this collection for a couple of reasons. When I’m shopping for a particular card, I often find others that I also buy. It may be perfect for a certain person, or very fitting for certain events (babies, anniversaries, new home), and some are just funny. I figure I’ll use them someday.

When I need a specific type of card, I sometimes have a great deal of trouble finding one I like. And sometimes time to shop is short. So this always seemed like a good idea.

For several decades I had a book of pockets with a page for each month. There was room to write down all the dates I wanted to remember, and the pockets held the cards as I found them. I loved it. It was so simple to stay on top of birthdays and anniversaries and get cards out on time.

Then the book collapsed. I’ve kept it for sentimental reasons, but I don’t ask it to work for me anymore. It served me well and deserves its retirement. But I still have cards. And, yes, I’ve thought about making my own version to replace it, but it’s not very high on my To Do List.

When I opened the drawer to grab the card, I had to sort through some to find the one I wanted. Obviously, my collection had gotten out of hand, and I decided to organize it. I figured a few minutes of sorting them into piles, snapping a rubber band around each pile, and I’d be organized.

It started out that way, although there were more cards than I realized. Then I found another batch underneath some plain writing paper … and when was the last time I used that? So I kept going. I had to clear more space as I found more types of cards—Get Well, Thank You, and on and on.

Then I found I had duplicates. This was from all the “gifts” enclosed in the begging letters. You know, the ones asking for donations. I always kept them because some were cute or pretty and it seemed wasteful to get rid of them. But I decided that the duplicates could go.

This little job that was going to take a short time and make me feel as though I’d accomplished something stretched into three days. No, I didn’t work on it for three solid days. It was a matter of finding bits of time here and there to work on it until it was done. I also added labels to each pile to make the next search go quickly.

Then today’s mail came. You’ll never guess what was in it. Yep, another assortment of cards for any occasion. I laughed a little. I thought about crying a little. They were cards for six different occasions. I’d have to find and insert them into six different piles.

I pulled up my big-girl panties and dumped them into the recycling bin. It felt good. One small step toward keeping the clutter down.

A brief round of applause or an “Atta girl!” here would be appropriate.

And appreciated.