The handwritten letter is becoming obsolete and it makes me sad. Now, I love email. I would email my dinner straight into my stomach if I could. But just because it is easy and convenient doesn’t mean it’s always the right format. I realize this and challenge myself to do better in the way of letter writing.

I am especially partial to handwritten thank you notes. I just feel like it shows a tremendous amount of grace and appreciation, especially in today’s fast paced, time suck world, to sit down, be grateful and write a note. I mean, if I send you a gift in the mail and you don’t send a note, how do I know you received the gift? Isn’t that important for the giver to know?

This is just one more area of our modern lives that require an extra ounce of time and respect. I always say, time is more important than money. If you take the time to write me a personal note of appreciation, it makes the spending of the money and time I spent shopping for said gift, that much more worth-while.

On that note, if you need extra motivation for writing thank-you notes, read on. “They improve the frequency and quality of the gifts you receive. People like being appreciated, and if they feel you actually notice the nice things they do for you, they’re more likely to give an encore performance. Do not, however, use this as a strategy to avoid writing thank-yous to those who regularly give gifts you do not like. Every gift deserves a thank-you.” – Harpold, Leslie. (2013, October 1). “How to Write a Thank-You Note.” TheMorningNews.org. Retrieved August 19 2013, from http://www.themorningnews.org.

To clarify, you really don’t need to send a thank-you if you opened a gift in front of the giver and said thank you in person, but it’s still a nice gesture. An email or phone call will certainly be appreciated as well but a note is just so special. Just make sure you say thank you in some way for any gift you receive, no matter how big or small or how much you like it or dislike it. It matters.