Raise your hand if you are grumpy. It comes with the territory of the Monday after the clocks spring forward. Both hands raised here.
My favorite story of the weekend involved “the mystery letter” addressed, in neat, pretty handwriting, to my daughter. It came in a fancy envelope and the return address belonged to a woman whose name I had never heard. I brought the letter to my daughter. She didn’t recognize the name on the return address stamp, either. It made me feel curious, yet also kind of suspicious and protective, too. Handwritten letters are such a rare thing these days. It turns out that it was a thank you note, coming from a teacher. My daughter had volunteered to help pre-cut some craft items for our local elementary school. In all honesty, my daughter did the activity, in order to fulfill her required community volunteering hours, required by some of her clubs and honor societies. Still, my daughter likes to do crafty things, and she did a really nice job with the project, in a timely manner.
The teacher wrote a very sincere thank you note, making it clear how much time my daughter had saved her, so that she could focus her attention on other important activities going on in her classroom. My daughter beamed. I beamed. I am one of those moms who has always insisted on my children writing handwritten thank you notes for gifts and experiences. I think that my daughter finally fully understood why I have always required this act of kindness and respect. My daughter felt appreciated. It feels good to feel appreciated. Thank you, dear teacher, for giving us this very “teachable” moment. Teachers are amazing.
Are you passing on love, or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.
Kelly,
I love hearing stories of the appreciation felt after receiving a hand-written note! For the past 4 years I have worked doing marketing and sales for a very small (but mighty) company that writes authentic hand-written notes, primarily to non-profits to thank them for donations made to their organization. I love this work. I have recently been let go, and I am seriously considering giving it a go on my own. You message today gave me inspiration! Your daughter sounds like such a gem…like her mom!
*I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget the way you made them feel. -M. Angelo
Joan, I think that the Universe is telling you something. We need more handwritten signs of appreciation in this world, not less. <3