Preserve the tradition of writing thank-you notes

Everyone loves getting a real, handwritten “Thank You” note. Keep a box in your desk (don’t forget the stamps) and then its easy!

My birthday was June 27 – I got really nice gifts and cards from a few people – and I managed to send all my thank-you notes within about three weeks. I even sent some photos with some of them! I have to say that to even be able to find notecards, address labels, stamps with the current required value, and people’s current addresses all at the same time, let alone to then write the letters and mail them, I’m doing way better than I usually have in the past. :-)

Yesterday, while clearing off our desk and going through a pile of neglected papers (thanks to my goal of organizing the house!), I found a thank-you note from Christmas that I had written but never sent. One of the many drawbacks to being as disorganized as I’ve always been is that it makes even something as simple as sending a letter difficult—can’t find stamps, can’t find the recipient’s address, etc. Apparently in this case I hadn’t been able to find either.

Well, now that I’m doing better with keeping things organized, I had both stamps and my aunt and uncle’s address close at hand. Even though it’s a bit embarrassing to have to mail such a late thank-you note, I knew it was a better choice than just not mailing it at all, and besides, I wanted my aunt and uncle to have it! So I mailed it today. So far so good on this goal. My birthday is coming up this month, so I may have a few more thank-you notes to send soon.

My mom always writes thank-you notes, and when I was a kid, she made me do the same, whether I wanted to or not (and most of the time I did not!). I’m really grateful that she did that. Much as I railed against it at the time, it formed a habit that I now recognize as a wonderful one.

At the moment, I usually write thank-you notes, but due to disorganization my record isn’t perfect. From now on, I plan to do it every time I receive a gift or someone does something especially nice for me. I also want to preserve the tradition by cultivating it in my stepson while he’s still young!

I guess I can’t truly say I’ve accomplished this goal unless I see that he (and any other children I may have) has incorporated it into his life independently, which probably won’t happen for several years. But I’ll start by helping him write them this Christmas and by making sure that my fiancee and I do it consistently ourselves.