So... are your cards really that different?

Was cafeteria food in college really that different from your Grandma’s cooking? OK then. You’ve got the answer. But I actually can explain why, unlike your Grandma’s “pinch of this” secrets...

You see, the cards at Thru Glenn’s Lens were written about, by and through real tears from the indescribable loss of death, real fits of laughter with a friend, total despondency after watching your dream go up in smoke, blind anger at the world after being hurt by someone or something you loved, the tingly warmth inside when someone is unexpectedly kind to you at just the right moment... and a WHOLE lot more.

Every single one of our cards is grounded in a so-real-it-could-speak emotional experience or feeling, not just a calendar occasion; rooted in the things that leave indelible marks on your memory in everyday life, not Hallmark events. (Not that there’s anything wrong with those! I happen to be a major fan of The Hallmark Channel.)

But our cards are authentically honest, down to earth, sometimes raw, usually blunt. No sugary platitudes, just reflecting the real emotions that real people feel, and sometimes struggle with (especially when they are sad ones). With no BS.

Neither do we have some “catalog” of stock photos. Each picture is hand selected from Glenn’s personal photo libraries, hard drives, vacation albums and “cloud” to best bring to life the right emotions and words for each card; to express through a picture what words alone can’t do. At least not nearly as well. (You know that “Picture’s worth 1,000 words” thing? Well it’s true.)

I now have this wonderful digital picture frame that I created after Glenn “relocated” to Heaven, that’s ON every waking minute of my day – and one that I am constantly adding to. It provides never-ending feels-like-I-am-still-there memories of the times, places and experiences that feed my heart... but also feed cards, and surface some really poignant, forgotten emotions – both invaluable as inspirations for Thru Glenn’s Lens!

I also have an amazing network of friends who are just as open with their feelings as I am. So all of our cards are written (and approved!) by a real person who has actually walked the walk of the experience, not a bevy of copywriters. By people who have personally lived the moments they describe.

If a card speaks to the loss of a husband, wife, mother, father, child, friend, etc., the words came from the broken heart of a person who LIVED IT. Same for the words of support and encouragement.... friendship, gratitude, happiness and sheer joy! And we all have a wicked, unfiltered sense of humor, so there’s that, too!

Our promise: IF IT HASN’T BEEN EXPERIENCED FIRSTHAND, WE DON’T WRITE THE CARD. Period. You aren’t going to get that at the grocery store or CVS, for sure. So, as a friend so succinctly put it, “Sorry Hallmark.” (Not to get on their case again. I really do like their Channel. It’s what we new widows do. LOL.)

I sincerely hope our cards provide you the right words – the real words – for your loved ones, friends or even just acquaintances during their "moments of life"... happy, sad, or the millions of places in between.

And when we see a new need, or one that someone wishes was here, but it isn't, then we try to accommodate that – so are always adding, always tweaking to make sure things are expressed just right.

... I also PROMISE, our cards will always be real. And from the heart. Just like Grandma's Sunday dinners. (Except when mine made corned beef & cabbage. Oh it was real. Authentic. Made with love. But ewww, it was just plain horrible to me. LOL. Loved her to the moon and back regardless!)

Cheers!