No, THANK YOU!

Let me begin this rant by pointing out that I am a GRITS. Girl Raised In The South. Although my family background is diverse, I was definitely brought up with a lot of traditional southern values. One of these in particular is writing thank you notes. You could say that in many situations, I'm kind of a stickler about it. Here's a couple of examples for your amusement.

Scenario 1: Hubby's good friend from high school is FINALLY getting married. He graciously sends us an invite, but we can't attend due to the infant in our house, and the fact that the wedding site is 10 hours from our home. So, I feverishly comb all the "popular" wedding registry sites and finally locate some lovely barware for the happy couple's new home. I purchase it and have it shipped to their home, a couple of weeks prior to the big day. According to the shippers website, they received the package. However, I wouldn't know because it's been over 3 years now, and no thank you note.

Scenario 2: Hubby's step-sister is getting married at a site within reasonable driving distance of our home. We pack up the, now 2 kids, and the wedding gift and head for the hills. I received an invite to a shower for this girl, which so tactfully showed all sites that the registries resided, so I didn't have to do much investigating thankfully. We arrive and walk (for what seemed like miles in the most uncomfortable shoes EVER) and are horrified delighted to find that the affair is an outdoor event. Nothing like nuptials in 105 degree, 100% humidity, Tennessee August heat. After melting faster than the candles enjoying the redneck quirky ceremony, we head indoors (thank god) for the buffet reception. We head home soon thereafter and wonder if she's enjoying the gift that we left on the gift table for them (last August). Know why we're wondering...yep, no thank you note.

Scenario 3: Hubby's cousin sends us a high school graduation invite. The thought of attending this event with about 1,000 other people, just isn't our idea of a good time, plus we had scheduling conflicts. So, I head down to the Hallmark and pick out a delightfully witty card to mail him. I enclose a check for a nice sum of money and wish him well. I hope he spent the money wisely, because the check cleared our bank account. I also hope he used part of it to purchase a stamp for the thank you card that we have yet to receive.

I realize that with the digital age, letter writing has become a bit of a lost art. However, there's no excuse for not picking up a phone, sending a text, or drafting an email just to say "Thanks, I really appreciate you thinking of me/us!" So, for those out there that I might have been remiss in thanking for a gift that I (or any member of my household) received in the past several years, this is for you. THANK YOU from the bottom of my forgetful little heart!