In 1944, a middle school girl gave her friend a card for her 14th birthday. When the girl’s birthday came around, the friend sent the same card back to her. “Neither one of us can remember who started it,” said Pat DeReamer, one of the two girls, who is now 95. The other teen was Mary Kroger, now 94.

For the past 81 years, DeReamer and Kroger have been sending the same birthday card back and forth to each other on their birthdays, signing their names and the date each time. DeReamer opens it every year on her birthday, April 1, then signs it and mails it to Kroger, so she can open it on her birthday, May 20. Kroger lives in Carmel, Indiana, and DeReamer lives in Louisville

“It’s been a long time,” Kroger said. The timeworn card features a cartoon dog with a large red polka-dot bow tie. It reads: “Here’s wishing you a BIRTHDAY that really is COLOSSAL.” The message continues on the inside of the card: “’Cause it’ll be a long, long time before YOU’RE an old fossil!”

As they’re both nearing 100, the greeting “has taken on real meaning this year,” DeReamer said. The inside of the card has an illustration of a large dinosaur skeleton spanning both sides. The women write the years on the dinosaur’s bones, and cross out the other’s signature when they receive the card. After eight decades, it is crowded with writing.

“We never missed a year,” DeReamer said, noting that one year, the birthday card got lost in the mail, but her husband tracked it down. The friends have not seen each other in a few years, as it’s gotten more difficult for them to travel. The birthday card, though, has been a constant in their lives.

“I’m always excited to get the card,” DeReamer said.

They said they intend to continue the card exchange for as long as they are able, and they believe their families will eventually take over. “I’m sure if I can’t do it, my children will,” Kroger said.