When I was little my mom and dad, with help from Grandma Newell, taught my sister and me that it was extremely important to write thank you notes for any and all presents you receive.  No matter what.  This was pre-internet and email (Can you believe we lived pre email?  It’s a shock we survived.) so the only way to do this was via mail.  What we now call  snail mail.  This was such a hard-core rule with my Grandmother that not sending a note in an appropriate amount of time could mean you forfeit whatever present was coming up next.  Seriously, if you wanted a birthday present you better sit down and write a thank you for that Christmas present Dec. 26th!  No ifs ands or buts!

As much as it was drilled into my head and even though it is just good manners, I often let time go by and then forget to send a thank you note.  I’m horrified on my own behalf.  To make me feel even worse about this, a good number of my friends are GREAT thank you card writers.  There is no doubt that they each had their own Grandma Newell who taught them the correct way to show gratitude.

The person who shames me the most is my friend Leslie.  I know, without a doubt, that if I give something to her I will have a handwritten note in my mailbox two days later.  I’m always so impressed not only with her manners and timeliness but with the classiness of her stationary.  In response to your gift you will receive a heartfelt written thank you on crisp and elegant card stock style note cards with her name printed in fancy font.  Every single time I receive one I think, “Now that is class.  I need to get me some of these here personalized cards for sending out notes.”  Then I remember I actually have some, I just don’t use them.

It was no surprise that after dropping off cookies for Leslie’s son I received a thank you card.  What surprised me is that this little dude (Age under kindergarten … I don’t know his actual age.  I barely know my actual age.  I’m going to go with 2.  I think that is right.  2-ish.) has his own personalized stationary.  Classy AND age appropriate.  Totally swanky! I was blown away.

So after my latest birthday I wasn’t going to let Leslie’s tiny son outdo me in Thank You note writing!  I pulled out some thank you cards and wrote them out.  Then I addressed them and sat them on my desk.  Where they sat for a few days.  Then I managed to remember to buy some stamps and those sat in my purse, with the cards still on my desk, for a few days.  So here we are.  A week after my birthday and my cards have yet to be stamped and mailed.  That is going to be fixed today!  Maybe.  Probably.

Better late than never I say (I don’t think Grandma Newell would agree)!

(Dog update – We took Snowbell home yesterday.  She is the best puppy ever.  When her parents told me she doesn’t destroy things I rolled my eyes and thought, “sure … a six month old puppy who doesn’t chew things up … sure..”  That puppy showed me!  Riggins already misses her — )