Today is Feel the Love Day. It also happens to be Wayne’s birthday, which is one of the three times of year Team Pryor feels the heat to show their captain how much we revere him. And do we feel the heat! (Refer to Murphy, Kitty, and Tabby’s Dilemma: What to Get Wayne for Father’s Day.)
Well, in an unusual move for me, I waited until the last second to get birthday cards. I don’t know what I was thinking. I thought I had them, but I didn’t. I think I had seen some a couple of months back, but money was short so I figured I’d just remember where they were and get them later. Of course, when later came (today) there was now money but not time to go back to where I had initially seen these great cards.
“That’s okay,” I reasoned. “I had seen them at a Hallmark. They’re all about the same.”
Au contraire.
The Hallmark by the mall, hereunto known as the Other Hallmark, carries a different selection than the one in the strip mall nearest to me, which we’ll call the Closest Hallmark. I always forget that the Other Hallmark is the one I can find “cards from the pet” in, whereas in the Closest Hallmark I can’t.
But I didn’t remember this until I went to ask the clerks, “Where are your cards from the animals?”
“Excuse me?”
“Um, you know, cards from the pets to their moms and dads for birthdays and stuff.”
“We have cards from people to their parents that you can find in Cards for Him and Cards for Her along the back wall.”
“Yeah, I saw that, but none were from the cat or the dog.”
At this point they stared at each other with a look that could only be interpreted as, “It’s going to be one of those days,” before telling me, “What exactly are you trying to find?”
“A card that says something to the effect of ‘Happy Birthday from the cat.’ Or dog. Or your pets. Something along those lines.”
“We have cards to thank pet sitters, but I don’t think we carry birthday cards from pets. Sorry. There are cards with pictures of cats and dogs on them in some of the general sections that you might find helpful.”
Poor Murphy, Kitty, and Tabby…usually it’s finding the gifts that are hard, not the cards!
But have no fear, cards were found. At the Closest Hallmark even. Ones with great pictures of cats and dogs on their fronts and appropriate messages inside. (Even if they don’t specifically say “from the cat” or “from the dog.”)
So Wayne will Feel the Love on his birthday from the pets after all.
Afterword
Target also carries “from the pet” kind of cards, which I remembered en route home. Just in case you ever find yourself in this dilemma…