Does it matter about thank you notes any more? My generation is still pretty rigorous about writing an acknowledgement, and we were raised to do so. But nowadays, one is fortunate to receive an email. I'm okay with that. A text with a photo is even better. I like the cards from the grandchildren, because I love their writing and spelling. I'm only annoyed when I send something and no one ever tells me if it arrived. Often, to find out if the gift got there, I have to email the person myself. All of this is trivial in the larger scheme of things except for the fact that the less time one allows for thoughts of gratitude, the less gratitude is flowing through the heart. So I like the notes for generously expanding gratitude thoughts, a healthy state of mind. If we don't take any time out for such thoughts, we lose the connection with pleasure and cause. We forget the other person in the joy of receiving. A human interaction becomes a pleasure arousal about things. Things magically appear, and the effort invisible.
We've all seen kids at birthday parties tearing open the gifts, not listening to the parents telling them who gave them, having no eye contact or conscious acknowledgement of the giver. At the end of the day the new toys are thrown into the pick up bin and shoved in an overcrowded child's room to be played with or not. This is no Toy Story. Even in that movie, it's the toys the child becomes attached to, not the giver. A boy and his toys - ahhhhh.
Yes, the message is subtle, but that is exactly why I'm grateful my daughter encourages the grandchildren to see and feel that these gifts are from someone human, someone with feelings, someone who thought and planned and considered what her grandchildren might truly enjoy. They may complain, but I consider it mind training. I'm grateful.
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