Sometimes I wonder if it has something to do with me that I think that for the most part, we’ve gotten lazy about sending thank you cards.
Maybe it is my expectation and the way I was brought up that sending a card when someone does something nice for you is what you are supposed to do.
But I’ve thought about this a lot. I enjoy sending thank you cards. I like the slowing down of taking a few moments to write out a note of gratitude. A thank you to someone, I feel, is a gift in itself.
While I try not to expect them, I do have to say when I receive one it really does warm my heart.
It is a form of acknowledgement to someone that their thoughtfulness made your day and in sending a card it becomes a full circle moment of being the giver and the receiver.
Am I perfect in always sending a thank you – no, I’m not. But I do try to send them often. I love to look for fun cards and stationery.
When I did the many presentations I did with Frankie visiting schools, I got many sweet and lovely cards thanking me for sharing Frankie’s story. I never expected them really, but I can’t tell you how often I’d curl up on the sofa, Frankie beside me, and I’d read those cards and notes.
On days I was tired and thought perhaps I didn’t do as good of a job as I wanted, the notes were my assurance that I was making a difference. No matter who we are, I believe, we all need to know now and then that who we are or what we are doing matters.
My heart would explode with love for the kind and sometimes funny notes from children. And such a beautiful lesson we teach our kids too when we teach them this art of thank you notes.
Maybe I’m old fashioned and this shows my age – but I’m going to stand in how I feel about thank you notes.
To me, they really are a lovely way in which to pause for a moment in your life, not only when you write one, but when you receive one.
Perhaps I’ll make it even more fun next time I write out a thank you and put on a floppy hat like Gidget, find a spot in the sun, sip some tea, and take pleasure in this simple act of savoring the sweet joys of life.