I hate to be churlish, but whenever I receive an electronic greetings card, my heart sinks.
These e-cards ping up on your computer with amazing regularity.
On your birthday, at Easter, Christmas, on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day. Some thoughtful friends even remember your wedding anniversary.
The sender is being kind, showing that you are in their thoughts – throughout the year!
And they are clever, these e-cards. Beautifully designed, the graphics are superb.
Walt Disney must be turning in his grave. Or in his cryonic chamber, depending if you believe the urban myth.
Look, I’m being horrible, I know. But when you’re busy, writing a letter, paying a bill or just trying to be creative, you have better things to do than watch a mouse running up and down a grandfather clock?
How many times can I ‘ooh and ahh’ over a hatching egg, as eventually a darling yellow chick emerges.
And as for the Harry Potter/Grimm Brothers-inspired old oak tree!
Do we have to watch little twittering bluebirds rise and swoop and plummet incessantly until the gnarled lump of wood is transformed into a rose-clad thing of beauty.
I hear the ping, I see it’s an e-card and whom it’s from. And I carry on with what I’m doing.
The trouble is, if you don’t watch the Easter Bunny or the flowering tree or the troupe of carol singers immdiately, you get regular pings to remind you that ‘Joe or Josephine Bloggs has sent you an e-card’.
Alright, when you do click on it, you can skip to the end. But mean-spirited as I am, I do feel that is somewhat ungracious.
And then, when I eventually get round to clicking, I see:
Sorry, the card you are trying to view has been deleted by the sender.
And I feel terrible. I’ve upset a thoughtful, kind friend. Several kind friends.
And it explains why I never hear from them – not even an e-card…
Thought it was only me!
No – you are not alone! For once I’m hoping certain people don’t see this piece – namely the kind friends who send E-cards!!
I’ll never send you another one!
Goodness – am I so influential??
What ever happened to letter writing?
Well, there are times when email communication really does save time. But a letter to say thank you for a lovely dinner party or a gift is always preferable. And if you have a postal address, I would always send a letter of condolence rather than an email.
But sending an electronic birthday card for me always smacks of forgetting the birthday.
See Jaja Toff comment below – says it all!
Wholeheartedly agree. I regard sending a physical card as a wilful act of greeting. You go to a shop. You pick a card. You spend three hours trying to find its envelope. You agonize over what to write inside – not too sentimental, not too cold. You can’t find a stamp. You go to the post office. They’re closed. You go back some other time. They’re open. You buy a stamp. You take the whole kit and kaboodle home again because you forget to post it. Finally you post it. Even more finally (after who knows how many days, weeks or years) it is delivered. The recipient opens it and they have a physical, tangible, long-term (if they like) sign of your affection. And it’s worth the effort. Because life really is not digital. It’s physical. And friends and loved ones are worth that effort 🙂
See reply above – Jaja Toff comment says it all!!
Thank you (sent electronically – but in this case, no choice)
GL