words matter

Last night I worked the closing shift at the store. I helped several customers find JUST the right card for a few really tough situations:

1. A customer was looking for a get well card. I pointed her to the right area, and she came back to checkout with a card. She started sharing with me that it was for a friend with cancer, and she thought humor would be the best way to go, and that she found one that 'might' be ok. I asked if she'd seen our line of hysterical cards specifically for women going through crappy life stuff - divorce, cancer, etc. When we walked over to it, she said, "Oh my gosh, that's my friends nickname!!" See, the card line is called 'One Tough Chick'. I shared my faves with her - even a few I got for a friend. She found a couple perfect cards and left knowing she could make her friend smile, even for a minute.

2. A lady came in looking first for a 'sorry you lost your dog' card. :( Then, she asked for a card that would say 'sorry I had to give you such bad news'. She shared that she had to tell her niece that her mom - the lady's sister - is in the early stages of Alzheimers. And she had to share tell that news to her niece the day after the neice lost her dog. Oh my word!! My co-worker pointed her in the direction of a certain card line that is all about encouraging words, and I kept looking for a good one. And finally we found just the right words. The customer left with a smile, knowing that she was going to make a difference and show her family how she was in it with them for the long haul.

I left work grinning and telling husby how much I love this job. The feeling I got from helping those women was akin to the feeling I'd get after having a heart to heart with a struggling youth. That surprised me, but it totally makes sense because words matter. I've been thinking about this lately. Why do we read and write blogs? Becase we know words matter. They heal. They comfort. They create. They inspire. They change us. They change the world.

So write on, friends! *I had to go there :)*
-a girl