We have run out of thank you cards for the third or fourth time this year. I’m not talking about the eight piece post cards that you get when you buy party invitations but the big 50 box sets. We need more, and I am struck by the fact that each time we purchase more thank you cards, it reinforces just how blessed we are.
We have a large family that showers our kids with love and kindness; special dinners and gifts; sleep overs and events; generosity that other families wish for. We don’t send notes out for every gesture, but we send them out for a lot. We try to cultivate a culture of gratitude and finding a chicken scratch message from an eight year old on my pillow at night is evidence that some of this is taking hold.
This has been a year in which our family has been humbled with the truth just how much we need our people and community. While all doctors and tests assured me that the cancer was relatively safe and manageable, it scared the hell out of me and in varying degrees, the rest of the family too. We were picked up and held in so many good and generous ways. As time and space allowed, I’d grab a pen and pile of thank you notes and write messages again and again.
I added thank you notes to the shopping list again and the thought struck me that perhaps this is a way to measure the fullness of our lives. My hunch is that the more thank you cards you buy, the less you complain about the purchase. The more notes you write, the more blessings you see in your life. The more time you take to acknowledge the generosity of others, the more giving you yourself become.
I need to buy some more thank you cards today, and I’ll happily pay the $8.99 to enjoy the good life that comes from recognizing the goodness and kindness in others.
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