"Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone."
-- G.B. Stern
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| Thank you note 9-15-14 |
"Don't forget, a person's greatest emotional need
is to feel appreciated."
-- H. Jackson Brown Jr., Life's Little Instruction Book
"I can no other answer make but thanks,
And thanks, and ever thanks."
-- William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
I don't do nice things in order to get noticed, or for accolades or pats on the back or any of that needy, selfish shit.
I do nice things because it's a nice way to let the people I care about know how I feel about them.
Still, it is nice to be appreciated. Especially when I'm not looking for the thanks.
Yesterday I baked cookies for my guys. It had been a long dry spell and the cookie jar was empty. So I baked some with extra chips for Leo, and some with no chips at all for my husband. That's how they each like 'em, so that's how I baked 'em.
I left the cookies out on the kitchen counter and let the feeding frenzy happen.
I don't bake delicious, perfect, homemade cookies with any agenda in mind other than taking proper care of my boys. Well-fed boys require homemade cookies. It's part of the basic nature of boys.
And yet, this morning, among the crumbs, my husband had left me a little thank you note, quickly dashed off on a yellow Post-It.
I have to admit, it felt pretty good.
Sure, well-written thank you notes are proper etiquette. My grandmother drilled that one into me. She was all about keeping up appearances. There are lots of guidelines about how to write proper ones. And in my lifetime I've written and received plenty of those kind.
But they never make me feel the warm fuzzy way that the little kitchen counter ones do.
It's kind of upside-down, isn't it, how we are trained to express gratitude (even if it's just "good manners" gratitude) to the people outside our homes when they do something for us, but the people inside our homes get short shrift when it comes to written thanks.
Well, today, how about we change all that?
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Why not take the "One Good Thing Gratitude Challenge" and write a thank you note to a person who does something nice for you today.
It doesn't have to be formal or fancy or long.
You don't have to use elegant stationery.
A few words, even a single word, on a little sticky note will do the trick.
And they don't have to do anything monumental or extraordinary.
If they fold your socks, write a note.
If they feed your cat or walk your dog, write a note.
If they buy you a cup of coffee, write a note
If they clear the hair out of your shower drain, again, write a note.
If they bake you delicious cookies, write a note.
If they bake you shitty cookies, but it's the best they can do, write a note.
Go ahead and scribble a little smiley face or a heart on there if that's your style.
You don't have to make it a big deal, you just have to mean it.
A thank you note is just a little thing. But it's a good little thing.
Sure, well-written thank you notes are proper etiquette. My grandmother drilled that one into me. She was all about keeping up appearances. There are lots of guidelines about how to write proper ones. And in my lifetime I've written and received plenty of those kind.
But they never make me feel the warm fuzzy way that the little kitchen counter ones do.
It's kind of upside-down, isn't it, how we are trained to express gratitude (even if it's just "good manners" gratitude) to the people outside our homes when they do something for us, but the people inside our homes get short shrift when it comes to written thanks.
Well, today, how about we change all that?
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Why not take the "One Good Thing Gratitude Challenge" and write a thank you note to a person who does something nice for you today.
It doesn't have to be formal or fancy or long.
You don't have to use elegant stationery.
A few words, even a single word, on a little sticky note will do the trick.
And they don't have to do anything monumental or extraordinary.
If they fold your socks, write a note.
If they feed your cat or walk your dog, write a note.
If they buy you a cup of coffee, write a note
If they clear the hair out of your shower drain, again, write a note.
If they bake you delicious cookies, write a note.
If they bake you shitty cookies, but it's the best they can do, write a note.
Go ahead and scribble a little smiley face or a heart on there if that's your style.
You don't have to make it a big deal, you just have to mean it.
A thank you note is just a little thing. But it's a good little thing.
