I thought I better add that "taking a poll" part to the title or you might settle in to read, thinking this post is going to be filled with warm and fuzzy Bekah-thankfulness.
Okay so here's the deal. When I was growing up, my mom taught me that if I received a gift, I should write a thank you note. In fact, after the family Christmas festivities each year, I usually spent Christmas night, sitting at the dining room table, scrawling out a thank you to each of the family members that gave me a gift that day.
I wrote thank you notes for Christmas and birthday gifts, notes to the church for funding half my summer camp trip, and notes to my grandparents for the souvenir they brought to me every single year when they went on vacation. I wrote notes for graduation gifts, bridal shower gifts, wedding gifts, going-away gifts, and gifts offered in sympathy for losses I experienced.
But I'm learning...people don't really write thank you notes like they used to. Which, in turn, makes me curious - do you write thank you notes? Like real, handwritten, mailed-with-a-stamp thank you notes? Do you say thanks at all when someone offers a gift? Facebook or email a thanks? What do you do?
I had a teacher in junior high that said you should never issue an assignment you're not willing to take, so I'll answer my own poll question.
When I write a thank you note, whether it's for a gift, or time someone spent with me helping me with something, or hospitality...I try really hard to go beyond the obvious thankfulness. I try to think about the person I'm writing to and how he or she has invested in my life in the bigger picture and offer thanks for that.
Writing thank you notes makes me more grateful for that person's presence and investment in me than it does for the actual gift or act. And I always hope, after I write a note, that the message translates that way from my heart to the giver's heart.
So....when you write thank you notes {that is, IF you write them} - do they make you think beyond the matter at hand and cause you to be more grateful for the giver? Or do you stick closely to the assigned task?
Now...tell me! I'm listening....
4 hours ago
13 comments:
Yes, I do write thank you notes. I write them for gifts (obviously), when someone pays for my lunch, when I am invited to a home, when someone has gone the extra mile in kindness or compassion. I send handwritten notes. I am of the 'older generation", I suppose but I know that most people like to know they are appreciated.
I actually thought of you when I wrote this post because I remember when you wrote me a note just to encourage/thank me - not for anything in particular but just for BEING. And I've never forgotten that. You do this very well and I appreciate it! :)
I write thank you notes and just because notes and mail them. I write them for gifts, acts of service done for me, or just because I know they need encouragment. I enjoy getting thank you notes and just because notes in the mail....besides the bills that come, and I know that others would enjoy getting it too! :)
Guess I qualify as a thank you note sender I, too, want the giver to know I was touched in a special way by the act of their giving. There is a special bond between the act of giving and the act of receiving. Like a boomerang it keeps coming and going around. Mostly I do hand written cards on hand made cards...o no, not made by me but I am keeping a colleague's cottage enterprise going by my purchases of her lovely cards. I miss being able to purchase from the Bekahsbits collection, though...Lois
i love thank you notes that say much more than thanks for the gift. but honestly, nowadays (funny to say that)but lately i really appreciate a thank you text even more! I tend to save those or really have time to read them even TWICE rather than just ripping open a card in the mail to easily toss rather than add to clutter. IS that crazy? So i have become a lover or thank you texts and photos attatched! :)
XOXO
yay BLT is on Friday this week and not missing a week. happiness. I think you girls should have a BLT party sometime and serve BLT's maybe at Honey on the Table that little lunch spot and i think they actually serve BLT's! how fun! Just a crazy idea.
I, too, was taught to appreciate the gift and the giver, and to write a thank you note. I have passed this along to my girls and they do it too. I enjoy writing notes, in general, and who doesn't like receiving a handwritten note these days, in this age of texting and email? Blessings, Lisa
Well...I have to be honest...I am not as good as I would like to be about sitting and writing the notes. I often say thanks by taking someone to dinner or lunch for something they did that I appreciate. I have sent e-mail thanks more than the actual mailable thanks and I wish I could get on the ball and actually write out and mail thanks. See just like right now...you are challenging me and I am saying thank you...in form a a typed submitted document!!
I send thank you cards for birthday presents. Or sometimes for things people have done for us. I try to be good at sending Just Because notes or Get Well cards, but I'm not very consistent with those. I will also try to send a picture message of the child with the toy or whatever it is so the person can see them using it. But I'll follow it up with a thank you card in the mail. Sometimes it's months after the event by the time I get all the cards written and mailed, but I do it anyway!
I am not great about thank you notes, but ironically, I am trying to teach my kids to do better at them. Also I bought a package of 50 Thank You cards from Target because I wanted to do better at it myself :)
I firmly believe thank you notes should be sent. I think when someone does something for you thank you notes allow you to acknowledge that what they did was meaningful. I write note and also send encouragement notes and letters. I know I enjoy getting thank you or general notes anytime but seldom do.
A couple of gratitude quotes that I like:
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. — Melody Beattie
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. — Marcus Tullius Cicero
I still write thank you notes and have tried to teach my daughters to do the same. It takes a bit more effort, I think to actually write a hand written note and mail it. It shows your appreciation for what the person gave you or did for you. It is easy to overlook gratitude - taking the time to send a thank you note is one small way to express it.
Jayla - AGREED. Nice notes really offset bills - and junk mail!! I love thank you's for acts of service just as much as gifts.
Lois - ahhhh you are SO good at notes. Perhaps one of the best I've ever ever met. And you nailed it "a special bond between the act of giving and the act of receiving." Love that. And speaking of loved gifts...our cashier friend at Lowe's (yes, we go enough to have our own friend) - LOVES the gift card you got us with our picture. She talks about it every single time and asks if I've told you how much she loves it. So now I have. :)
Polly - That's interesting about re-reading the thank you texts! I keep most thank you notes to re-read them the same way. And I told Lynne your idea. Sure hope you planted a seed.
Lisa - I say BRAVO for passing it on to a new generation!! Well done!
Amber - I sure would rather get an email or a text than nothing at all, so I say you are on a good road there!
Jenna - I do love the picture with thank you idea. I"m sure that shocks you. :) My sister did that when Cassie was little - cool idea!
Natasha - you know what I really appreciate about you? How you really jump in to make things happen!!
Mark - I used to be REALLY good at this - for just the general, all purpose sending but I've gotten bad.
Tammy - You nailed it too - it's easy to overlook gratitude. And therein is the problem! Good job on teaching your kids!!!!
Ok...well I'll be the one that says I don't. Not that I wasn't taught to. My mom made me write them. I always say thank you. I usually try and do something to show that person my appreciation instead, like take them out for lunch or bring them a coffee or drink at the end of their shift. --Molly
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