Friday, January 05, 2007
You're Welcome
Thank you notes are a bit of a controversy in my family.
The bottom line of the controversy is “Is a Thank You note really necessary if you thank the giver in person?”
Being the middle child, I don’t involve myself in this controversy. I am not offended when I don’t get a thank you, but always try to get my thank yous out in a timely fashion. I am the peace keeper. I don’t want to upset either side of this big controversy.
Passing on the good values that come with writing thank yous, I sat down with Roo to write her Christmas Thank Yous. I told her that she couldn’t keep the gifts if she doesn’t write thank yous for them. The process goes like this: Roo dictates a message to me and she writes her own name. Simple enough for a four year old. She loved licking the envelope and putting on the stamp. It was a fun activity to do together.
Like most children, Roo loves getting and sending mail. Often times I announce to her, “Look, Capital One sent you mail again today!” She loves getting her own cardboard credit cards in the mail.
Yesterday, Roo was so excited to receive a thank you note from her cousin, ‘Third Son’ or ‘4’, the names his parents use for him in their blogs. For simplicity sake, I will refer to him as Cousin. Roo walked around with his card reading in over and over for an hour. After a while, she announced that she was going to send him a thank you note – for the thank you note. I convinced her that sending a thank you for a thank you might start a vicious cycle, and maybe a ‘You’re Welcome’ card might be more appropriate. She eagerly agreed and got out her supplies.
She asked me to write “Cousin’ and ‘You’re Welcome’ on a piece of paper so she could copy it down. She began writing. She kept me updated on her progress and asked many questions.
Roo:
Does Cousin like rainbows? I am going to draw a one.
Why doesn’t Cousin have an ‘s’ in his name? That’s a tricky letter.
Does Cousin like eyeballs? That’s the toy we gave him.
How do you write an upside-down M? I can write M’s.
Does Cousin like boogers?
Me: Huh? Boogers? Well I don’t think so. I know he likes to learn about the human body, but I don’t think he LIKES boogers.
Roo: Okay, then I’ll take the booger off the paper.
Me: Who’s booger?
Roo: Mine. I picked my nose.
The bottom line of the controversy is “Is a Thank You note really necessary if you thank the giver in person?”
Being the middle child, I don’t involve myself in this controversy. I am not offended when I don’t get a thank you, but always try to get my thank yous out in a timely fashion. I am the peace keeper. I don’t want to upset either side of this big controversy.
Passing on the good values that come with writing thank yous, I sat down with Roo to write her Christmas Thank Yous. I told her that she couldn’t keep the gifts if she doesn’t write thank yous for them. The process goes like this: Roo dictates a message to me and she writes her own name. Simple enough for a four year old. She loved licking the envelope and putting on the stamp. It was a fun activity to do together.
Like most children, Roo loves getting and sending mail. Often times I announce to her, “Look, Capital One sent you mail again today!” She loves getting her own cardboard credit cards in the mail.
Yesterday, Roo was so excited to receive a thank you note from her cousin, ‘Third Son’ or ‘4’, the names his parents use for him in their blogs. For simplicity sake, I will refer to him as Cousin. Roo walked around with his card reading in over and over for an hour. After a while, she announced that she was going to send him a thank you note – for the thank you note. I convinced her that sending a thank you for a thank you might start a vicious cycle, and maybe a ‘You’re Welcome’ card might be more appropriate. She eagerly agreed and got out her supplies.
She asked me to write “Cousin’ and ‘You’re Welcome’ on a piece of paper so she could copy it down. She began writing. She kept me updated on her progress and asked many questions.
Roo:
Does Cousin like rainbows? I am going to draw a one.
Why doesn’t Cousin have an ‘s’ in his name? That’s a tricky letter.
Does Cousin like eyeballs? That’s the toy we gave him.
How do you write an upside-down M? I can write M’s.
Does Cousin like boogers?
Me: Huh? Boogers? Well I don’t think so. I know he likes to learn about the human body, but I don’t think he LIKES boogers.
Roo: Okay, then I’ll take the booger off the paper.
Me: Who’s booger?
Roo: Mine. I picked my nose.
Me: Good idea.
As far as Roo knows, we sent off the 'You’re Welcome' card to Cousin. But for Cousin’s sake, I just put it in the recycling bin - booger and all.
So, Cousin, Thanks for the Thank You. And You’re Welcome
# posted by Allee @ 4:17 PM 
Comments:
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Why is it so cute for a 4 year old to pick her nose and send a booger in a card? At what age does that become not so cute anymore?
I laughed so hard at the "booger" part. Good intentions, right?
Thank yous thank yous thank yous. I write thank yous myself but I know plenty of people (husband included) who think they are not necessary if you say "thanks" in person. But, I think it's a nice gesture to let someone know I am thankful beyond the moment of having received the gift.
Thank yous are SUPER helpful in acknowledging that a gift was received - especially if it was something that was shipped. Having out of town family, I'm always nervous that they didn't receive a gift. Especially if I haven't heard A THING from them!
I like the idea of doing them together. Maybe I should try that with my hubby...
Thank yous thank yous thank yous. I write thank yous myself but I know plenty of people (husband included) who think they are not necessary if you say "thanks" in person. But, I think it's a nice gesture to let someone know I am thankful beyond the moment of having received the gift.
Thank yous are SUPER helpful in acknowledging that a gift was received - especially if it was something that was shipped. Having out of town family, I'm always nervous that they didn't receive a gift. Especially if I haven't heard A THING from them!
I like the idea of doing them together. Maybe I should try that with my hubby...
# posted by 
: 1/06/2007 2:39 PM
: 1/06/2007 2:39 PM
I appreciate thank you notes with or without boogers. Keep 'em comin', Roo!
Whenever I receive a thank you in the mail, I feel more appreciated. Most mail today is bills, junk mail, and catalogues and other than at Christmastime, very little that is personal. A thank you note is a wonderful pick me up....and, yes, it lets me know the gift was received when it was not opened in my presence.
Whenever I receive a thank you in the mail, I feel more appreciated. Most mail today is bills, junk mail, and catalogues and other than at Christmastime, very little that is personal. A thank you note is a wonderful pick me up....and, yes, it lets me know the gift was received when it was not opened in my presence.
# posted by : 1/06/2007 7:45 PM
: 1/06/2007 7:45 PM
I'm glad she liked it. I probably would not have had Joe write a thank you note until we got one from Roo and he immediately decided he wanted to write one too.
In December he got it in his head that he wanted to make Christmas cards for a couple of random classmates who we really don't know. They were sort of pathetic looking notes with scrawled writing on crookedly folded construction paper. I sent em' anyway. I can only imagine what the parents thought when they opened the mail.
Honestly, you didn't need to recycle that note. I'm sure Joe would have loved it, booger and all.
In December he got it in his head that he wanted to make Christmas cards for a couple of random classmates who we really don't know. They were sort of pathetic looking notes with scrawled writing on crookedly folded construction paper. I sent em' anyway. I can only imagine what the parents thought when they opened the mail.
Honestly, you didn't need to recycle that note. I'm sure Joe would have loved it, booger and all.
I'm 38 and I STILL send people boogers on occasion. Usually they are people I don't like, but still.
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