Thank You Notes

What has happened to the Thank You note? Is it a lost art? Have we all become so selfish and arrogant as to expect that others will be able to read our minds and know we are grateful? I hope that is not the case.

When I went through confirmation, I had to write thank you notes - although I didn't understand why. When I wrote Thank you notes for my high school graduation, I began to understand why. It was starting to dawn on me that people took time out of their lives to help me celebrate the beginning of my adult life. Some even did so with a gift. I acknowledged their time and presents with a Thank You note.

These days, people send Thank You notes only when you give a gift for events such as graduations, anniversaries, birthdays, baptisms, weddings, births, or any other event where there is a gathering of people.

I have often wondered what caused this change. Is it because the person doesn't have time to show gratitude to others? Is the person just lazy? Does that person have no respect for others? Could it be that this person just doesn't care? Some people have expected not to receive any thanks, while other people have wanted some thanks. There are so many possibilities; it's difficult to pick just one. How about those meals for a new mother, care for someone after surgery, or, if you are lucky, a gift from someone for no reason at all?

There are many things that require acknowledgement of another person's heartfelt thoughtfulness. The unselfish, mature thing to do when receiving any gift is to acknowledge it with a Thank You. This note can be as simple as "Thank you for spending time with me on my special day. It was great to see you." It is always a nice thing to see a person write his or her own thank you notes, putting thought into the message and personalizing it. Ex. "Thank you for the vegetarian lasagna. It was wonderful to have a meal that fits our family's usual diet."
If a person does not say Thank You, they are rude. However, they aren't rude when they don't send a written Thank You note. That just doesn't seem right. It would be a shame for people to lose touch with manners because they didn't observe Thank You's in written form.