Thank you...
I am a stickler for thank you notes. Not thank you phone calls, not thank you emails and, for heaven's sake, not thank you texts. Real honest to goodness thank you notes. Written on paper. Often involving an address and stamp. But at the very least hand delivered to the person who was generous enough to bestow some sort of kindness on you.
I married into a family that does not do thank you notes (with the exception of one sister-in-law - out of 13 kids- who not coincidentally happens to be my very, very favorite). My mother in law phones. The rest may or may not acknowledge that they received your gift. Luckily my husband has come over to my side after 12 years. He is always the first to ask me 'did you send a thank you note'? And I can usually say that yes, I have already sent it. (You can see he is very trainable!) I think the reason that my husband's family does not do thank you notes is that, with the exception of 2 kids, they all live in the same town. They see each other all the time and thank each other in person. That's my theory anyway.
Imagine my surprise last week when I received a thank you note for a graduation gift we sent to my husband's nephew. As I opened and started reading the note I realized that his mom wrote the note. I appreciate that she thought enough to send something but shouldn't the young man have been able to pen his own note? Or am I asking for too much?
Fast forward to this afternoon when I received an email from a friend who just wanted to say 'hi' and then needed to run and finish writing thank you notes for her own son's graduation gifts. Is it because they are boys? Don't boys need to know how to write a thank you note? Or is it just one more way that social graces are not being passed on to the next generation? Am I just old fashioned & rigid? Do any of you have any thoughts on this?
I married into a family that does not do thank you notes (with the exception of one sister-in-law - out of 13 kids- who not coincidentally happens to be my very, very favorite). My mother in law phones. The rest may or may not acknowledge that they received your gift. Luckily my husband has come over to my side after 12 years. He is always the first to ask me 'did you send a thank you note'? And I can usually say that yes, I have already sent it. (You can see he is very trainable!) I think the reason that my husband's family does not do thank you notes is that, with the exception of 2 kids, they all live in the same town. They see each other all the time and thank each other in person. That's my theory anyway.
Imagine my surprise last week when I received a thank you note for a graduation gift we sent to my husband's nephew. As I opened and started reading the note I realized that his mom wrote the note. I appreciate that she thought enough to send something but shouldn't the young man have been able to pen his own note? Or am I asking for too much?
Fast forward to this afternoon when I received an email from a friend who just wanted to say 'hi' and then needed to run and finish writing thank you notes for her own son's graduation gifts. Is it because they are boys? Don't boys need to know how to write a thank you note? Or is it just one more way that social graces are not being passed on to the next generation? Am I just old fashioned & rigid? Do any of you have any thoughts on this?
Comments
I think it's bizarre for those moms to be writing thank you notes on behalf of their grown sons! Very strange. But then again, I've noticed that nine times out of ten, when I receive a thank you note for a wedding gift, it's from the bride and not the groom.