- Timely Thank-You's
- by
Rachel Paxton
When I was growing up there was
an unwritten rule at our house: "Thou shalt write thank
you notes." And in a timely manner. You could beg, plead,
and hope mom would forget, but she never did.
|
I still remember my 6-yr-old
brain struggling over the pencil and stationery my mom put before
me after Christmas and my birthday each year. I didn't know how
to spell most of the words I wanted to say, and I struggled trying
to come up with a unique note for each relative, my mom spelling
the hard words for me as I wrote.
I didn't realize then what a
valuable habit my mom was teaching me. To this day I can hear
her voice in my head asking "have you written your thank
you notes yet?"
I never realized how important
saying thank you was until I became an adult and started spending
more time and energy trying to do something nice for friends
and family. |
|
Some people write out their thank
you notes the same day, the thought of not being appreciative
completely mortifying them, others prefer verbal thank you's,
whether by phone or in person. Whichever method you choose, you
should always thank people for the time and/or money they spend
to help you or make your life a little brighter.
One of the most precious things
I've ever seen is young children writing thank you notes to teachers
or friends or someone who has done something nice for them. What
a wonderful habit to instill in young children.
Nothing saddens me more than
spending weeks or even months on a handmade gift given at a wedding
or shower and not ever even having the gift acknowledged one
way or the other. There's just no excuse. When my daughter complains
about having to write her thank you notes I remind her how she
feels when someone doesn't take the time to acknowledge her thoughtfulness,
and she immediately has a change of heart. She wants people to
feel appreciated just as she herself wants to be appreciated.
And that's not too much to ask. |
