Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Best Sympathy Card, EVER


Carlton Cards has created the best sympathy card in the world. I found this card in Target, and I appreciated the comforting words so much that I wanted to buy the entire stock. My husband said he wasn't excited about the idea of having a stack of sympathy cards at the house waiting for people to die so we could send them out. I agreed, but this is the BEST sympathy card ever written. Read this:


We are all creatures
of this great earth-
interconnected in ways
beyond understanding.
Take elephants,
So big.
So strong.
And yet,
when a member of the herd passes,
even elephants mourn.
They gather around,
extend their trunks,
and gently touch
the tusks
of their fallen friend.
It's their ritual.
It's how they heal.
And it's sad.
And it's beautiful.

So maybe
what we're trying to say
is that the world
doesn't expect you
to be fine with this.

Be how you need to be.
Mourn how you need to mourn.

And know that
you're thought of
with love.

20 comments:

  1. I agree! I have been looking for this card for a friend, and telling my husband it's the best sympathy card I have ever seen... it was the only card I received a couple years ago for my brother that touched me, made me cry, made me smile, and that I read over and over. I cannot find this card anywhere, and once I do I too will buy a bunch. For now, I'll try and recreate it on my own since you kindly posted the words! Thank you.

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    1. Jasmine - do you still have this card? If so, I'd really appreciate if you could give me the UPC code on the back. I've asked Carlton Cards if they have any more anywhere & they said that they wouldn't know with out the UPC code.

      Thank you,
      Kelley Hooper

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    2. I love this card, ti is the best. here is the UPC Code that you are wanting

      61526 87262 I would love to get somemore of these also, could you let me know if that is possible

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    3. I have the card and I would really like to get a bunch of these, my favorite sympathy card ever, could you please let me know where ou can get some more.

      UPC number is 61526 87262

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    4. I'm online now trying to find a place to purchase a drawer full! I hated to send my last one but it was just to perfect. How can we order this card?

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  2. I purchased this same card a few years ago when a friends Mom was killed in an auto accident on the way to her daughters home for a family dinner. She was young and we were all a terrific mess. This is the card I sent, I also bought it at Target. Months later, Gina called me to tell me that she saved this card and read it over and over. She said it felt like the world expected her to be getting over it when she clearly wasn't and that this card reminded her that there need not be a timeframe for grief. Thank you for posting the words, I'll keep searching my Target!

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  3. Thank you so, so much for posting this! My husband and I received this card from a family friend after a very profound loss, and it touched us deeply. We have the original somewhere, but I wanted to share this with someone and was thrilled to find it transcribed here. Thanks again!

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  4. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING! I HAD PURCHASED THIS CARD A FEW YEARS AGO AND HAVE LOOKED AND LOOKED FOR THE WORDING, BUT TO NO AVAIL. IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND I THANK YOU!

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  5. Like many I first came across this on a sympathy card I bought and searched to find the words some time ago. When my husband aged 53 died suddenly and unexpectedly in June 2012 we used it on the back of the Order of Service. So many people commented on how beautiful and apt it was. See also the Celtic Night Prayer for similar encouragement to mourn at your own pace.

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  6. This is absolutely, the most perfect sympathy card I have ever encountered. Thank you for posting this, every time the unfortunate event of a loved one passes, I look for this card. Thank you again.

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  7. I got this card when my mom died. There were nearly 100 cards of condolences, and it's the one to this day that still touches me. Thank you for posting the words, I have been looking for it for some time.

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  8. Thank you! I have been searching for the words in this once-in-a-lifetime-Target-find for YEARS. it's the most perfect sympathy card ever.

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  9. I too have been looking for this card with no luck. Does anyone actually have the card and can tell me who makes the card and any SCU (?) number that may be on it? I bought this card at a Hallmark store but Hallmark carries cards made by other companies as well as their own. ??? Thanks.

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  10. The one I had was made my Carlton Cards Cleveland, Ohio 44144 and here are the numbers under the bar code: 61526-87262

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  11. When my father died on Father's Day of 08, this was the best card I received. It is four years later and I still refer to the same card from time to time.

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  12. I am so glad this is posted. I bought all that was left in the store (4 or 5) and am holding onto that last one...I also think this is the BEST sympathy card EVER! I now print out the poem and put it in other sympathy cards so I can atleast share the poem with others...

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  13. My father died in 2008 and I received this card as well. It meant so much to me that I saved it and came across it today. It is amazing to find this site and see how many others felt the same. Wish I could find the card to buy also.

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  14. My father died in 2008 and I received this card as well. It meant so much to me that I saved it and came across it today. It is amazing to find this site and see how many others felt the same. Wish I could find the card to buy also.

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  15. I purchased this card for a friend who lost her brother and she told me years later that this card was the most special to her. I have often times wished I could find it again for other family/friends grieving the loss of loved ones (and am in need of one now) but sadly I cannot find it anywhere. :( Can someone reprint or make available online?

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  16. Any chance someone could give me a picture of the UPC on the back of the card?

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