Thank You Notes

I’m a huge fan of Jimmy Fallon’s Friday night thank you notes, so I thought I’d try my hand at a few.

First, the intro:

I’m running a bit behind in my personal correspondence and thought I would try to get my thank you notes done on the blog, if no one minds. Okay?

(You clap and cheer here, and encourage me.)

(Jimmy starts the “thank you note” music, or you can supply your own.)

Thank you, Amazon KDP statistics, for showing me how pitifully few people are turning the pages of the books of mine that they bought.

Thank you, neighbors whose houses are completely and expertly decorated for Christmas, for showing us up. Again.

Thank you, continuous ads for Christmas gifts, for reminding me how few I’ve bought and how many I have left.

Thank you, clock, for only giving my 24 hours in a day. Why such an odd number, and why so few?

Thank you, kissing bugs, for invading my state and making me fear for my life, since you have about 15 different appearances and I’ll never know which one you are until you suck the blood from my face.

Thank you, Snopes.com, for confirming the above and adding a few really gross details.

Lastly, thank you, my readers, for giving me encouragement, for reading my books and stories, and for being my readers.

I hope your holiday season is progressing satisfactorily, if not beautifully!

National Thank You Month

January is National Thank You Month. I suppose this is appropriate, falling after the gifting holidays as it does. Aside from thanking friends and relatives for the gifts you received, there are other ways to put this month’s activity into practice.

This site has some suggestions.

I noticed some people on Facebook last year posting what they were grateful for each day. I’m not sure I could come up with 365, but it’s a great exercise.

The second suggestion on the site is what our family does every year at the Thanksgiving table. There are usually more than the normal number of people, so it takes a while. The ones at the end are hurrying so the food won’t get any colder and everyone is jealous of the person who goes first because he or she says everything that everyone else wants to say and we all have to think of something else.

The last one on that list is to do something nice for someone. That’s one that we could all do every day. In fact, I’ve made this my goal for a few years now. My thinking is that there’s not much I can do about the world’s problems. We should try, for certain, but on a daily basis, my actions don’t change the world. I can make someone’s day better, though. If I can get a grumpy grocery clerk to smile when I tell her I like her haircut, it makes the day better for both of us. Sometimes I have to remind myself of this. Some day I’d rather someone else made it a goal to cheer me up. But, ultimately, the only actions I control are my own. So cheering up another person is the only option that is always open to me.

Have a good month!

photo from morguefile.com

Thanking

Are you bad about saying thank you? I regret that I'm not an accomplished thanker at all! If I'm complimented on a new outfit, my first inclination is to say something derogatory about the outfit, like, I got it on sale, or, You like this? I’ve had it for twelve years. Over time, I’ve come to realize that this is a slap in the fact of the person, like saying they have no taste if they like this old thing. What I should say is, simply, “Thank you.”

Then there’s the other end of thanks. I get enjoyment out of helping people out. If a person in the grocery store is riding a scooter and gazing longingly at something on the top shelf, I stop and ask if I can get it down for them. I get embarrassed if I receive profuse thanks for helping with such an easy task as that. I usually mumble something like, “That’s OK.”

I found these synonyms for “thanking”. 

appreciating

acknowledging

giving thanks

But underneath that are these antonyms:

disparaging

finding fault

The antonyms are my natural response to being thanked! That’s not good. There are lots and lots of good ways to respond, better than “That’s OK.”:  

Sure.

No sweat.

No problem.

You're welcome.

Don't worry about it.

Don't mention it.

You're quite welcome.

No, not at all.

It's my pleasure.

It's the least I could do.

Now I need to sit down and go over these--and remember them next time someone thanks me.  Two simple phrases is all I need. Thank you and You’re welcome.

Thank You Panda from http://www.mycutegraphics.com/graphics/thank-you-graphics.html