Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Air Mail

Last night, I wrote a 'thank you' note to a friend across the country and I thought to myself how sad it is that we very rarely pause to say thank you in a meaningful way, THEN I thought I will always prefer a handwritten note to an e-mail.  Call me old, call me old school, you can even accuse me of not being eco-consious if you'd like, but I truly hope that the dying art of writing letters doesn't actually DIE.  



The older I've gotten and the more events like weddings, showers, graduations, etc. that I've attended, I've noticed an increasing amount of people NOT sending thank you notes.  Now, don't get me wrong, I never do these things or give gifts in order to receive a "thank you", but am I the only one that balks at this?  It seems that gift giving has become the expected norm and thankfulness is a slow after thought.  What are your thoughts?

images:  1) chance; 2) D&OC II (source?) 3)  marcinéma

20 comments:

Sandy a la Mode said...

i love writing thank you notes to express my gratitude... or better yet, thank you notes and presents! :) i also LOVE receiving snail mail once in awhile too!! the quantity has def gone done with email, texting, etc!

GB said...

I have to agree....I miss cards, notes and letters...my heart always quickens when I see them in my mailbox (sadly, it's usually stuffed with junk!)

candacemorris said...

There is nothing more powerful than the written word. If those words are kind, poignant, encouraging, and gracious...it can change a life.

I write at least one letter per week...and yesterday wrote one to a good blog friend in Australia! I love sending things over oceans!

Great post today.
Wouldn't it be fun to start a snail-mail blog swap?

paislea said...

i adore little love notes in my mail box. whether it be from a long lost friend, or my brother who is currently in puerto rico. anything and everything is fun. i love it!

allisterbee.blogspot.com

alli/hooray said...

I love, love writing letters + sending things to people in the mail. great post!

Iva Messy said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE snail mail. I love it. I would be devastated to see handwritten 'thank yous' completely disappear. With that said though too, there really have been far to many times then I care to admit to myself, that I have slacked on sending one out myself :( I need to work on that!

julialifeisart said...

I totally agree. My sister, mother, and I (each in a different city and state) constantly mail each other little notes, newspaper clippings, sample products, etc. and it certainly livens up the daily ritual of checking the mail.

Linz said...

i agree 100%. but i'm guilty of it too. i *say* thank you but i do feel like i should send thank-you notes as well. i used to send thank-you notes, but when things began to get hectic, i stopped. i should pick it up again.

justagirlLaura said...

Really?! You've given gifts at weddings and showers and haven't received a thank you note? That's shocking!

Christina said...

just a girl- don't even get me started on this topic, but yes, the answer is "YES!" more than once (more than a handful of times). i have no words.

Jules said...

I've never mastered sending thank you notes, but it is definitely something that I want to do better at in the future! I think even a short, little thank you note can mean so much to someone.

gina said...

It is shocking. Every time I ever got a gift (birthday, Christmas, whatever) my dad would make me sit down and write a thank you note. It was ingrained in me and I am happy it was.

Callie Grayson said...

i agree that thank you notes are important!
takes 2 minutes to write a simple thank you on a card and drop in a mail box!
I do have to say, I have received more thank you notes this year than in years past, so maybe people are remembering to be thankful?
xx
callie

Emily said...

I love old school mail too:) And the air mail stuff is eye candy for me. Forgot where I got it, but someone had a free printable with the air mail style. I printed it out, aged it, and sent a letter to my son on it. Since he lives with his dad most of the time, I think that finding creative ways to stay in touch with him is really important. With all the techology these days, I know that I enjoy sending out hand written letters and notes:)

Emily said...

I love old school mail too:) And the air mail stuff is eye candy for me. Forgot where I got it, but someone had a free printable with the air mail style. I printed it out, aged it, and sent a letter to my son on it. Since he lives with his dad most of the time, I think that finding creative ways to stay in touch with him is really important. With all the techology these days, I know that I enjoy sending out hand written letters and notes:)

Simply Mel {Reverie} said...

Christina ~

I couldn't agree with you more! Absolutely LOVE the art of the handwritten note, and it is an art that cannot be lost! Seriously, who will pick up an old hard-drive 100 years from now and feel nostalgia reading emails? Letters, notes, and sweet postcards are tangible and can be savored for years to come by many.

Just today, I mailed off 6 notes, and every week, I take the time to thank someone, send a message of hello, etc., etc. because these are the simple things that can make someone's day!

Looking forward to seeing you in August!

Bisous,
Melissa

jdavissquared said...

totally agree. my husband and i went to some friend's wedding about 8 years ago. Gave a gift, never got a thank you, and it still bothers me to this day! thank yous are a must!

beauty comma said...

a comment at the sartorialist mentioned a quote that said something like "PLEASE and THANK YOU: The forgotten words of the 20th century". i think you're right, i've experienced the same thing (mostly from younger people, i'm sorry to say)...

alexkeller said...

i miss writing and getting letters as well. i just signed up for a pen pal group - up to 5 penpals sending each other notes, cards and pretty stationary :)

Anonymous said...

I agree, I've noticed this to. i was raised to write "thank-you's". It's no different then when someone serves you a glass of water, or holds the door open. It's rude to not say "thank you". Same goes for a thoughtful gift that you spent money on. It's rude.

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