wonderful granddaughter, special girl.

When my grandmother sends me a card, it's always one with a pretty picture on the front and a nice message on the inside, sometimes a message so long it's a wonder anyone ever stuck around to read it. But I always read it, no matter how long, even if it is written in loopy script that is very attractive and hard to read, because I know that my grandmother read it and that she meant every word that the card-writer wrote.

She writes "Dear Sandra," at the top, before the message, as if she wanted to write me a letter, but happened to find this card which said everything she wanted to say anyway. If there are important parts of the message, she underlines them for emphasis. Usually the underlined parts say things like "wonderful granddaughter" or "special girl" or something else complimentary.

At the bottom, she will usually add her own message, words that she wanted to say, but apparently could find no card that said it. They tell me that she loves me and she hopes I am doing well, and usually something in particular about an interest of mine to show me that she remembers little things about me and that she cares. She may call me wonderful and special a little more, and underline her own words.

Then she signs it in her nice grandmother handwriting and sends it to me, where I receive it. I read it, the whole thing, and it makes me smile at the sweet way that my grandmother sends cards.

I don't send cards with long messages. I put those down without reading them all the way through in the store. I send cards that have a joke or maybe a silly picture on them. I never underline or put a greeting at the top.

I think someday, maybe when I am a grandmother, I will send cards with long messages with underlined parts. I may underline random things just to see if my grandchildren are paying attention. And then they will get them and read them all, even if the card happens to contain Hamlet in its entirety, because their grandmother sent it.