While I realize some proper behaviors and good manners have changed since I was born, there are a few things that I believe are still important. Writing thank you notes is one of them. It is an important task I learned as a child and passed on to my children.
Today I received a note from a friend in a distant city. It was a short note, hand signed and addressed in an envelop with a stamp. It was not an email or message posted on social media to just take care of the "thank you". Time and effort had been put into it. That spoke volumes to me. It made the message special. It made me feel special. It is a lesson I will remember.
Of course it takes time to send personal thank you notes to dozens of people who send wedding gifts, baby gifts, meals to struggling families, flowers for funerals, etc. But even if it takes a year to catch up with the notes, it makes all the difference to the one receiving it. Taking a short cut with a generic email on a distribution list or posting notes to the individual on social media (and everyone else sees it) is just not the same. It may be better than nothing, but seriously, isn't what someone has done for you worth a little more than that? Isn't their sacrifice worth a simple note?
When in doubt, take the time to do what is best, not just enough to get by. That is a good lesson for thank you notes and life.
