Thank You...Notes...

As I mentioned earlier, Monday was my birthday.

Because it was a birthday, and because I have beautiful, generous friends, I received so many thoughtful gifts.

And to date, I have not written a SINGLE. THANK. YOU. NOTE.

(Sydney Matthews, please come to Tyler and smack some living sense into me.)

The fact I haven't written a thank-you  note does not surprise some people. Like my mother.

::blushes and hides under a hair shirt for all of eternity::

But my mother raised me better than this.

She NEVER forgets to write a thank you note. She never would FORGET to write a thank you note. She gets up at 3 a.m. to write THANK YOU NOTES.

In fact, when we were growing up, we didn't get our grubby paws on said gift, whether it be a U.S. Savings Bond from Granny and Grand Pop or a new Nancy Drew mystery from Kitsy-down-the-street, until we WROTE A THANK YOU NOTE.

But would Mom EVER criticize me for not getting thank you notes written, for either me or the boys? Well no, because the FIRST RULE of etiquette is to NEVER, EVER make someone else feel uncomfortable. (for their pathetic showing in the thank-you note department).

Hello, my name is Amy. I'm a thank-you slacker.

There. I said it.

My shame is now public.

I used to be pretty good at writing thank-you notes.

On ivory embossed correspondence cards.

But I have, shamefully, missed so many opportunities to tell people how much THEIR thoughtfulness meant to me. 

The art of the thank you note is largely dead in our society, gone by the way of the morning suit and afternoon tea,  but I don't want to let it die in me.

It's too important.

If someone has taken the time to buy you something, or do something special for you, then the LEAST you can do is write a thank you note.

I've been SO BAD about it.

I was going to write them on Sunday. But events of recent months had me thinking I couldn't even get out of bed Sunday morning. I did make it out of bed. Only because I remembered I'd feel SO MUCH BETTER if I made it to Sunday School and put my issues in the hands of the Lord. But I didn't. I made it to the couch.

And I didn't write my thank you notes.

God - Fail. Thank You Notes - Fail. 

God gives me grace. People, not so much.

So my pledge is to make TIME for  THANK YOU NOTES.


There.

I said it.

In writing.

(***disclaimer...it won't happen within 24 hours of receipt. It just won't. Sorry.)