I have a question

There's been lots of grandson sitting this week. One of the things on the agenda was making sure oldest grandson got his birthday thank yous written.


I'm not good at sending out TY's in a timely manner. In fact if I thank someone in person I don't feel I need to send a hand written note also.

However, several of my relatives are so etiquette savvy that their thank yous are in the mail almost before the wrapping paper is off the box. And even worse they expect the same in return.

I start to cringe every time I hear someone complaining about how ungrateful cousin Jethro's children are because they didn't send a TY for the gift...Kinda makes me start questioning the reason the gift was given in the first place.

Don't get me wrong I believe in expressing gratitude and it is rude not to let someone know you've received their gift, but I hope you 'll comment on whether or not you feel a TY should be sent if you thank someone face to face.

Oldest grandson made his TY's on the computer. I showed him how to to use the program and then left him alone to create a masterpiece. This was what he came up with. Obviously he's still in the Independence Day mood.




This morning I was making a casserole to take for a funeral dinner. I guess the thank you note project was still on my mind and I started to remember how long it took me to get my thank yous out when Ed died. I wanted to send a personal note and not just sign my name. I think it took me 3 months to get them all written.

What I remember most was the funeral home saying I should purchase enough TY notes to include everyone who sent me a sympathy card.

Well I didn't do it. My husband had been a high school teacher for 23 years and I received stacks and stacks of cards. I just couldn't write another thank you.

Instead of taking comfort in the kind words I was receiving, I found myself feeling burdened every time an envelope arrived.

If the funeral home was right, everyone must be thinking, "Boy is she a derelict!"


So here's my second question. Do you feel it's necessary to send a TY card to someone who sends a sympathy card? And if you do, shouldn't the person receiving the thank you send a thank you in return saying thanks for being so considerate?









1 comment:

Anonymous said...

my mother-in-law sent thank you cards to everybody for everything!!! personally, i couldn't think of anything more stressful. my plan of action has been to gradually work through things and only send quick thank you's to people who i won't see in everyday life. for people who gave me meals, i thanked them at the time. for people who e-mailed me that i don't interact with normally, as i can, i send a quick note back thanking them--and after four months, i'm still working my way through. as far as cards and flowers, i will eventually do the same thing. if it's somebody i haven't seen or spoken to, i will thank them especially in whatever form suits or works. otherwise, i won't. i have found people to be extremely gracious and most people come back with a "we don't expect any reply!!!"