The Thank You Note

Are they without manners, were never taught it was the right thing to do, or do they simply not care?  I ask myself this question time & time again when I have gone out of my way to find the perfect give for someone, their child, their new home and so on... I am referring to sending a thank you note.  Taking a few minutes to jot down an acknowledgement of someones kind generosity, that you simply received the gift or that receipt of the item made your day brighter is just a given by many.  It takes so little of yourself to do this.  If you don't, please considering beginning.  Taking others for granted will most certainly knock you off the givers list of persons remembered.  Plus the person sending the gift might consider you entitled so therefore thinking you think that of yourself, even worse.  I would never want to be viewed as "entitled".  That could be viewed as haughty or just plain rude with a touch of self absorbed tossed in or that you were raised by wolves. 

Taking the time to thank that special someone for remembering you could keep you in their good graces, otherwise you might not deserve to be in that persons continued spirit of generosity.

As far as I am concerned, a late thank you note is better than no thank you note.  I am still at work on my Thank You's from Christmas, well over 6 weeks ago, the only reason they are so late: A house fire.  What's your excuse? 

PS: You have a full year for Wedding Gifts! Getting it done sooner increases your odds of getting it done.

Related articles

• Tips for Writing Thank You Notes (entertaining.suite101.com)
• The Thank-You Note: Is It Still Needed? (blogher.com)

What's So Hard About Being On Time?

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Having suffered from being late most of my life, looking back, I am ashamed. It is one of the most inconsiderate & disrespectful, let's not forget to mention, passive-aggressive ways of behaving. Venturing to go the distance, I admit in my own past patterns, it was narcissistic. Being late is all about me, it does not take into consideration the party on the other end it effects. Those were my single "me" days. Fast Forward:

Marriage & a child later, being late is not just about me anymore. My son does not deserve to inherit his mother's easily remedied bad habits, he deserves to be on time. As a mother I owe my child this small gift. It shows I care about him, his education, his teachers, his friends & behaviors he will learn through my actions (his future). Being on time is being respectful. I respect CMS (his school), his teachers & his peers. Every institution has rules that are expected to be abided by. Our children's schools are institutions. If we can't follow the rules as parents, what sort of example are we for our children? A trickle down effect, most likely in a society that is already crumbling. Why can't we do the little things that make the big picture better? It takes nothing to be on time. If you have to wake up earlier, do so.

What I find infuriating about families being late for school:
1/your own children suffer, them, not you
2/my child pays the price for your child being late
3/all the other children loose valuable learning time for your child's disruption of the classroom
4/if all that is going on in the classroom with 25plus other children, what do you think the state of the teacher might be? frustrated, distracted & unable to keep a learning flow going in her own classroom, that's just the tip of it
5/office staff who need to escort late students to their classrooms, they actually have a job besides ushering around your late child or children, they have an office to run
6/when drop-off is 8:15 to 8:35 for class to begin, what does it look like driving by for prospective new families or persons who have appointments or observations within the school office & there is no one there to assist them for the staff are being late child escorts, not good
7/the entire system fails

You see it is more than just about you, you have created a heaping mess by your selfish actions for the rest of us. Maybe now that you see a bigger picture you can wake up 10 minutes earlier, for the sake of the rest of us. This brings up the topic of principle.

Do we lack principle today? A topic of another future discussion.

Proper Etiquette or A Thing of the Past: The Change of Address Notifiction

This was the year I noticed.  Yes, more than noticed, that people do not send out a change of address card.  Upon beginning the monumental task of doing mine, his & our Christmas cards (all 140 plus of them), I realized that so many had moved without the courtesy of telling anyone, more specifically me!  Of all the people to notify, I should be on the top of the list.  I am someone who still sends hand-written notes, adores receiving them & believes in the romance of correspondence by mail (hand delivered mail).  If you are someone who does not want the art of real mail lost, please send out a note letting us know you moved! or in the very least buy those inexpensive return address labels that have a highlight that states you have a new address or that you moved.  If you have to, send us an email that says: "new address."  Just find a way to alert us of how to stay in touch with you & your family.  Yes I noticed this but more so, am thoroughly annoyed at the lack of courtesy that once was common place in society.  Where is our society anyway, but fading quickly with little attention paid to details that keep us connected in a physical way to each other.  If you move this year & want anyone who cares to know, send out a change of address somehow/someway, you have more options than ever before.