Thank You Notes - Who Needs Them?

A few weeks ago I was feeling very sentimental and I was reviewing in my mind some of the important things that I learned as a young girl.  Children soak up so much at a young age and one of the things that I remember my parents saying over and over again was to always say thank you. Say thank you for the ride home, say thank you when someone gives you something, say thank you when someone offers to help you and remember to say thank you when someone compliments you.  I think as a kid, sometimes I felt like I was saying thank you a few too many times but really, I probably didn't say it enough.

Why did my parents and why do countless others stress to their children the importance of expressing gratitude?  I believe it's not only because it's important to thank people but also because when we stop and express feelings of thankfulness to someone our hearts are softened and we want to be good because we see how we have affected someone else with our words.  Gratitude changes us and can encourage us to be a better person tomorrow then we were today.  It also makes us feel good and who doesn't want or need that?

As a young girl I loved to write - write in cursive to be exact - and I found that writing notes to people actually made me feel good.  So I learned to really love to write letters, to send people Thank You Notes, birthday cards and any kind of card that would bring people joy.  There aren't many things more wonderful then getting a letter or a package in your mailbox, are there?  It beats all the other terrible stuff that can be in there!  I am not as good about sending notes in the mail as I used to be but my heart is certainly still there!

What happens if we feel gratitude but we don't share it?  Well this quote by William Arthur Ward explains it exactly:

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

William Arthur Ward

Over the years I have collected a variety of cards because I have always felt like it was important to have these tools at my fingertips so that I could say thank you as soon as I had a need to.  I have this box in a closet and I have kept it stocked with various types of paper products so that I would be able to express my thanks at any time and for any reason.   Whenever I get the urge to send someone a personal message, I turn to this trusty box.

I have a stack of plain stationary that I have had for years - truly, I think my daughter who is now 22 was just a baby when I purchased this and I still have quite a bit of it left.  Apparently I don't like cursive THAT much!

I also have this stationary that was given to me as a gift that is so very nice.

Birthday cards are also in this box.  These you can get at Walmart in a package of 12 for $1.00. You can't beat that!  Cards don't have to be expensive and in fact, you can make them!  I don't think people would want you to spend $5 - $8 on a card for them anyway.

I also have blank note cards that I have used quite often because it is nice to put your own beautiful and personal thoughts on a card that has a spectacular picture!

This is another set of blank note cards that I love.

I think the art of handwriting notes and letters is falling by the way side.  Why hand write a note to someone when you can send them an email, an instant message, a FaceBook message or a Tweet? Because it is so much more personal and people really appreciate when you take the time to write them a message by hand, put it in an addressed envelope with a stamp and mail it.  And it not only let's people see your personal side but they have something they can actually hold that you have touched.  There aren't many things better than that!

Thank You Notes - Who Needs Them?  Everyone does.  Go write a Thank You Note today!