Ninety One Years Later: The Card Underline

June 13, 1922.
The old house in the country of Hollister, NC.
Ethel Shearin delivers her first baby girl: Nina Louise Shearin.
Nina’s mom, dad, and doctor are present.

June 13, 2013.
The house in the Holiday Hill area of Jacksonville, FL.
Nina Louise Shearin Kidd celebrates her 91st birthday.
Nina’s three daughters, two son-in-laws, two of her grandchildren, and her great-grand-monkey are present.

Nina Kidd has lived a good life, seen a lot of changes—not the least of which was desegregation—and become affectionately known as G-mama to her four grandchildren and five great-children.

This grandchild is one of the ones present with her today.

In many ways, not having a job has been very challenging and recent weeks have been no exception. But in other ways, not having a job has been a blessing because I’ve gotten to spend extra time with the people I love—G-mama being no exception.

As G-mama opened her cards and presents today, I giggled when I saw that one of her friends had done the “card underline” on G-mama’s card. She had also filled the card with handwritten news, not caring that the cursive was shaky and lines of writing crooked.

You see, that’s what G-mama always does when she sends cards. She does the “card underline”—the single, double, or triple underlining of certain words as a means of highlighting them—and then includes a handwritten message of news and/or good wishes. She also usually sends a dollar inside the card.

Many years ago, when I was sending 7-10 cards per week—I actually had a spreadsheet to keep myself organized!—G-mama and I sent each other a lot of dollars and cards full of the card underline. G-mama collected her dollars until she had enough to pay for a pedicure. I left my dollars in their cards so that I could go back and find them later.

In recent years, I’ve been terrible at sending cards. I have a whole bunch purchased. I have forever stamps. I like sharing the card underline with friends and family. Yet. Birthdays and holidays and random days come and go while cards don’t get sent. From me. But from G-mama?

With 91 years of life behind her and a very shaky left hand, G-mama still sends cards. She doesn’t send as many as she used to because so many of her friends have died. But she still sends cards, complete with the card underline, to friends and family whenever the occasion arises.

I admire that about G-mama. I always have.

I probably won’t have 3 children and 4 grandchildren and 5 great-children and sending cards through the mail may be obsolete by the time I’m ninety-one, but still…I hope that after 91 years of living, I am still thinking about those whom I love and doing whatever I can to brighten their days.

Thank you, G-mama for your example and for introducing us to the “card underline.”
You are loved.
And we are blessed.
Happy birthday!
And amen.