We had to buy a birthday card for someone yesterday. I’d not bought a card for about two months. We tend to buy cards early so we have them on hand and buy a plethora of cards at once for birthdays coming up in the next several months. Anyway, in the time since I last shopped and now, our favorite local greeting cards purveyor, BiMart, had rearranged their greeting cards offering. Further they’d reduced them.
My wife said, “Where are all the other cards?” My wife is a greeting cards fan. When we go on vacation, she visits local stores for greeting cards. She walked around in shock, checking other aisles. “They’ve really cut back on the cards.”
I agreed. “Guess it’s a business decision.” I was mentally shrugging. This didn’t fit in as one of my pet peeves and I wasn’t overly bothered.
Then we started looking for a card for a female, celebrating her 70. She’s a friend…
“What have they done?” my wife said. “There are no friend cards.”
True, I saw. No friend cards. There was a small selection for LGBTQA+. Moms and sisters dominated. Grandmothers and aunts could be satisfied. Daughters. But friends? No. The greeting cards had become weirdly overspecialized, at least in this chain store.
“Guess we have to go to CVS,” my wife huffed. As we were walking out, though, she offered comments about it to an idle cashier, complaining about how much the cards had cut back and how overspecialized they’d become.
I’d walked on, waiting for her at the door. It just wasn’t one of my pet peeves.
Michael Seidel, writer 
It is inconvenient, though! This is a thing I’ve noticed, as well. I don’t use cards because they cut down trees to make them. However, if someone sends me a Christmas card, I have to send one back. I can’t not. Also, sometimes you just know a given person/friend needs a card for some thing or another, and that’s what “Friend” cards take care of. I need “Cheer” and “Thinking of You” type cards for one of my husband’s cousins. who’s in hospice. My mission is to send him a card a week. Cards about healing and recovery, or post-loss aren’t appropriate. I remember “Thinking of You” and “Cheer” cards, and they were very simple. But now they’re nowhere.
Not a pet peeve, but definitely a peeve!
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I rarely buy celebratory cards anymore … but I can appreciate your wife’s reaction. However, I must add … reductions in merchandise is not confined to greeting cards.
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