I am an old fashioned type and I would have to admit to loving a thank you note, card or letter. I understand and appreciate that a thank you email is the done thing these days - time constraints and all that and I do know we are all very busy people and convenience is the most important issue - BUT....There is nothing so welcome as a hand written thank you. It does not have to be long or overly clever but it must be heartfelt. I have tried to impress upon my children the importance of taking the time to say thank you - kindness and generosity should never be taken for granted and a little thank you can go a very long way. I know they are not perfect about this - one is and the other two are spasmodic at best - no names but if you are reading my darlings you know who you are....
Why am I writing about thank you notes on a sublime Friday morning? Because I have been overwhelmed by the wonderful notes, cards and gifts sent to me after my daughter's party. We often fall under the misapprehension that teenagers and young adults don't appreciate our good deeds and hard work - this is not so. I have received the most beautifully written cards - brilliant essays almost - telling me what a wonderful time they had and detailing every little thing that they enjoyed over the weekend. I realize that these girls and boys took note of all my efforts and not only that they thought long and hard about how to say thank you.
A couple of 'thank yous' were unique. One young man particularly enjoyed the bowls of French caramels that I had sitting throughout the house - not carambars this time. He wrote a long note telling me how delicious they were and how he had eaten far too many and couldn't really stop - I do understand that little problem - and so he thought I might like to try a selection of caramel and fudge from Cornwall and Devon in the UK. I opened a huge parcel filled with boxes of sweets, read his note and practically shed a tear....That was one very thoughtful and innovative thank you note.
The other creative thank you also came via La Poste. A solid and rectangular parcel - I was intrigued to find out the contents - and inside the prettiest tin labelled Paris. The hand written note was warm and gracious - I know very well and for a very long time the beautiful girl who had sent me this gift but I had no expectation of what a surprise I would discover inside. When I read 'biscuits' I imagined shortbreads or simple cookies..... Opening the tin I found biscuits, but not just any biscuits, they were shaped and decorated as the most famous icons of Paris - The French Poodle, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, The Post Box, The Avenue Champs Elysees and many more. The cutest box of biscuits I have ever seen, so cute in fact that I think the thank you deserves a thank you....I was incredibly touched.
The remarkable and wonderful thing about these thank yous - all of them - is that time was spent thinking about what would make me smile...and they did, every little word.
It is the thought that counts, xv.
