This morning I helped a family friend finalize arrangements for her husband who died of complications related to a lifetime of battling diabetes. When we came to select acknowledgement cards, a dilema arose. The two of them, married 53 years, never had children and she became frustrated by the stock phrases we use such as "our family", "the family of", "our sorrow". After all, the card was coming only from her.
In place of "Thank you sincerely for sharing our sorrow...", I suggested "Thank you sincerely for sharing these sorrowful times..." which she appreciated greatly. We have a program for producing custom cards and we will have no trouble making this happen for her.
This made me wonder, in a world full of fragmented families, how often this happens with people except they do not say anything to the arranging director.
We all need to become more sensitive to such issues. And vendors??? Our world continues to change, please take a few moments to review your products. Has the time come, to find alternative words and phrases for the stationary and other resources we provide?
Yes, this happens more often than people think. Vendors have dropped the ball on this one. Excellent observations.
Posted by: englebert | November 18, 2007 at 12:52 PM