With Deepest Sympathy…finding the right words

I find sympathy cards difficult to send…it's hard to find the right words to say during a time of sorrow.

Creating a sympathy card is equally difficult…I don’t want it to be bright and cheery nor do I want it to be all dark and gloomy…and it has to be heartfelt.


This past week we needed a sympathy card for a young man who was my son’s age and a school mate. I wanted this card to be special…just like he was known to be. I know Hallmark has tons of cards out there with touching real life sentiments, but I wanted this card to be completely and totally from our hearts and not some mass produced sentiment...written by a group of people sitting around a table somewhere…no matter how poignant or touching.

At the same time, though, I thought…how can I possibly be doing something so trivial as making a card!!! Or…how can I possibly send my trivial creation to a family whose heart is breaking?!

I thought about this long and hard…all the while working on this card...and then it hit me! I was creating from the heart. I had thought about what I wanted to say…how I wanted to say it…and the look of the card, especially since this was for parents of a young boy. I didn’t want it to be too adult or somber...nor too bright and juvenile.

Somehow, I don't remember why...I thought about butterflies and their short but beautiful life span and went looking for butterfly poems and found this, which I absolutely love...even though I’m sure it’s written (or even mass produced) on Hallmark cards everywhere!

Thanks for letting me share…