I have always found that writing thank-you letters is very important.  It is an appropriate response when a person or persons have given their time and/or treasure to give you a gift or do something for you, a letter or special card is such an easy thing to do.

Over the years, I have noticed that writing thank-yous is not considered valuable to many people.  But if another person gives to you, gratitude should be a natural response. I think that adults should teach their children to do this from a very early age.

Let me explain why I think this is so very powerful.  As with letter-writing, gratitude becomes a  tangible thing.  It is something that can be touched.  And when saved by the receiver, it is an object that can be enjoyed again and again.  This is especially true of thank-yous written by children. 

When a person comes across this one little item, it can elicit a memory that transports one back in time to the relationship you had when that young person wrote it.  You may even see that

little person, now grown up, in your mind’s eye and smile at that very place and time when you opened it.

These thank-yous are part of the history of a relationship, a tiny piece of evidence of what once was.  In this time of virtual reality, many things are no longer memorable.  Even a picture, which used to be an object one can touch and share, is now just one of many in our phones that can’t necessarily even be found when one wants to do this.

To me, this is a tragedy.  Memories are more powerful when they can be touched.  Thank you notes are evidence of this.  And for that, I am truly grateful, especially as I grow older.  So let us save this evidence of our special moments. Then our children may discover the joy of finding the memories we leave behind.