by Ginger Philbrick
Even at first glance I was favorably impressed. The attractive handwriting was flowing neatly across the front of the envelope I had just taken from our mailbox, and I hoped the contents would be as pleasant as the outside. Experience had taught me that even the most frightening bill can be enclosed in a seemingly friendly, innocent envelope.
I need not have been skeptical; inside was a very unexpected, very heart-warming letter from the son of a dear friend who passed several years ago. He was thanking me for writing this very column, saying “Often I learn something new and sometimes maybe it is just a reminder, but I truly appreciate it.” His mother, who understood the importance of social graces and instilled them in her sons, would have been mighty proud.
I was, as they say, over the moon upon receiving it!
Do I go on about the importance of thank-you notes too much? Perhaps. And perhaps I am always preaching to the choir when I do. However, I hope you, the choir, aren’t reticent to share with the young people in your life how a simple handwritten note can change both the life of the sender and the one to whom it is sent. This isn’t hyperbole; a thoughtful note can lift someone from depression, encourage the discouraged, change the course of an employer’s decision for the positive, reunite families and friends, make Aunt Emily delight in continuing to send presents, and even persuade Santa Claus to keep bringing those much-requested gifts.
While I am on the subject of gratitude, please accept my humble thanks for your interest in “Because You Are Polite…” I greatly appreciate your contributions to its usefulness and your encouragement to keep in the forefront, in the words of my previously mentioned young friend, “Those simple decencies that make the world and our complicated lives more tolerable.”
Ginger Philbrick is the owner of Because You Are Polite LLC. You are invited to email your manners questions to her and she will respond as time and space allow. You may contact her at youarepolite1@gmail.com.
