Few people write thank you notes in this day and age. I’m not saying that is a good thing or a bad thing. It is simply something that most people don’t do. Thank you emails and thank you phone calls have replaced the practice. But I have this voice in my head (this is a different voice than the one that asks for hot fudge) that won’t let me drop the habit. The voice belongs to my mother. If I neglect to send a proper thank you note, it plays on a continuous loop until the guilt overwhelms me.

When I was a child, I would receive stationary most years for Christmas. It was understood that the first thing this stationary would be used for was writing thank you notes for my Christmas gifts. I hated writing those thank you letters. As a 7 year old, it was terrifying to face an entire sheet of blank paper and try to figure out how to fill it. I would write really big and draw a smiley face to hide the fact that I had nothing else to say.

“Grandma – thank you for the socks. I like them. They will keep my feet warm. Love, Michelle”

The first year Steve and I were together, his family shocked me with a pile of wonderful gifts on Christmas. I was so touched that they included me so completely in their family. I wrote each of them a thank you note. They all commented to Steve how nice that was. The following year, I also wrote thank you notes after Christmas. His sister came to me and said “Gee, I thought you were just sucking up last year, but you really do that, don’t you?”

Yes, I really do. I can’t make the voice stop until I do. Tonight, I found myself writing thank you notes to all of the people who wrote reference letters and signed witness letters for our dossier and home study. We really did appreciate it and mom wouldn’t shut up until I did it.

Thanks for the good manners Mom. I even used the adorable note cards you gave us for Christmas.