by Martha Coffin Evans
“My goal this year is to send 365 notes of thanks. Thank you for …’’ began the majority of my 365 notes written this past year. Too ambitious? Achievable? Yes, and doable.
Whenever written – daily, catching me up or for future days – my calendar soon filled with the card recipients’ names including any notations of their responses. Connecting the card’s content with the recipient, whenever possible, presented a little challenge much as wondered about in my January 2014 column, “Once a day.”
Local and international cards provided by a friend, removed from my scrapbooks or purchased during our travels elicited a few remarks of surprise. Some wondered if we had traveled there, had just returned from a given location or might still be away, surprised seeing us locally rather than in Florida.
“You made my day,” or brightened it, became a recurring verbal and written comment. Several reflected on keeping the card or note in a prominent location. Many thanked me for thanking them for this nice surprise of appreciation.
Others liked the idea of receiving a written note while another noted we don’t receive many postcards any more. These thank you notes triggered memories for a few while acknowledging the cards’ value in keeping us in touch and connected.
My 365 cards included family, friends, individuals from different associations and those in the medical community. Looking around, I found many for whom sending thanks became mutually meaningful.
To my surprise, I became the recipient of three cards – one in direct relationship to what I’d sent; the others from a friend during his travels. A thank you email from a Rotarian friend, who didn’t know of my goal, caused me to better understand the sentiment in reading his words of appreciation.
Perhaps we don’t take the opportunity to say “Thank You” enough. Give it a try; it might just make your day!
~ Martha (Marty) Coffin Evans, Ed.D, is a freelance writer with MACE Associates, LLC. She can be reached at itsmemartee@aol.com