The late I'm talking about is the habitual 15 minutes, thank you cards in the mail 3 months after the fact, one week, two weeks, 6 weeks late for birthday/Christmas/Mother's Day/Grandparents' Day/you name it! I'm wondering if there will ever come a day when I will get these things out in a timely fashion. I recently found a Halloween craft the Bella made for my dad...last year...in an envelope, addressed, just waiting to be stamped and mailed.
I have the best of intentions. I buy Father's Day cards for my dads weeks in advance, but they sit on the counter until a week after.
I bought a sentimental Christmas card for Jason only to leave it tucked away in a folder (where he couldn't find it!)
I made Grandparents' Day crafts/frames for 8 different grandparents...they've been sitting on my counter for two weeks.
Tonight I finally tackled my list...
Thank you cards for Sophia's birthday (6 weeks ago). Thank you cards for my birthday (also 6 weeks ago). Grandparents' Day (1 1/2 weeks ago). But just when I breathed a sigh of relief, I realized that I forgot two thank yous. But in the grand scheme of things, I think this is pretty good. Last year's thank yous from Bella's birthday and Christmas never made it out of the house. Or at least I'm pretty sure about this. Maybe a few made it, but I am almost 98% positive I never wrote them/mailed them. I am not proud of this. Not at all. But in my defense, I had a 2 year old and a 4 month old; try to keep things organized enough to write thank you notes...just didn't happen. And the reality is, living away from so many generous family members and friends, our house has turned into a Fed-Ex hub around the holidays. I have to find a better tracking system...don't open ANYTHING until Christmas!
It would be really easy to just brush this off, send a quick text with a picture of Sophia playing with her toys and say "thanks". But that's not what I was taught. The written thank you note is an under appreciated novelty these days. As a child I was not allowed to cash a check or have the money I was given for my birthday or Christmas until I sat down and wrote the thank you. This practice is so engrained in me that I still do this. I just deposited checks for Sophia last night. This is something I want my children to do. I want them to understand how meaningful it is to take a few moments to write a personalized thank you. I don't write "Thanks for the gift." I tend to write a novel...go figure! I write something specific about how Sophia has reacted to the present (some things she was obsessed with right out of the box) or something silly ("Sometimes I have to wrestle Bella to play with my new Minnie Mouse, but don't worry, I win!") or if we're saving the checks, what we're planning on doing with them ("Mommy and Daddy are saving your generous gift to put toward a new swing set for me and Bella.") I want everyone to know that we are sincerely grateful for their kindness and generosity. And that we understand how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends and family members. It is worth the time to let our family know they are appreciated.
So, to those who fell through the cracks last holiday season, please don't believe for a second that we were ungrateful. Or that we didn't take the time, with each gift, to talk about who it was from and how thoughtful it was that you had sent it (Christmas presents took us three days!). We take our time. It's not a wrapping paper destroying party. It's really an opportunity to teach our children about the kindness and generosity of others. And I promise you, we took our time with your gift. We made a connection with Bella about the gift. This is evident, when months later, she will play with a toy and say, "This puzzle is from my friend Sophia, for my birthday."
Tonight Bella said to me when I tucked her in, "Are you going to sleep now? Or are you writing thank yous? To Mimi and Papa?. Okay, Mommy. That's very nice."
Our children are listening, watching, and absorbing every single facet of our lives, and tonight I am very proud of this.
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