Thank You

My two favorite words in the English language: "Thank you."

I once heard, that if the only prayer you offer is "Thank you ....", it is enough. I find great peace in offering my gratitude to a Power greater than myself.

They are my favorite words to speak (and write), the most valuable words I have learned and passed along to my children and they are a gift when you are on the receiving end.

My mom is a big stickler on Thank You Notes. She can tell you who has not thanked her for a gift, what year it was and all of the circumstances surrounding the particular situation. She also remembers those that do thank her - quick acknowledgements move you up on 'her list' in a memorable way.

I don't track my thank you acknowledgements as religiously as my mom does. I do and give what I do, because I enjoy it. I give a gift because it feels right. I give from the heart. I do not enjoy the pressure of  'obligatory' gift giving occasions. The flow of giving is lost when a gift is expected. The gift of 'giving' is a treasure unto itself.

I can tell when I'm giving under pressure. It is then, that I am looking for an acknowledgement.

My last years of daycare were very much like that. I used to put together a yearbook for each of the kids at Christmas time - pictures, poems (tacky as they may have been) about our year, bios which highlighted each one of the children, a 'letter of gratitude' to my families for all that they gave me throughout the year and a 'signature page' where each of the kids signed to the best of their ability (which evolved from year to year). My last year of daycare gift-giving involved putting together personalized DVD's of mini-video creations where each particular child 'shone'. I spent weeks putting these personalized gifts together for each child. I added a Christmas card where I wrote individual messages to each one of my families, My Youngest went shopping at the Dollarama so that he could give a gift to each of the kids, and I tossed in a store bought toy from 'me'. The dollar value of the gift was nominal. The time and effort is where I 'spent' my fortune.

I gave these gifts to each of my families ... which grew with each year. The 'thank you's' decreased, each and every year. Until the last year, until I received possibly one acknowledgement from a group of ten (?). I was disheartened.

That was the last year of the yearbooks, the DVD's and the creative gifts. A great part of the magic of Christmas was lost when I stopped creating these little 'masterpieces'. Yet two years later, what I tend to remember was the lack of gratitude. I was giving for the wrong reasons. I benefited from these gifts because these yearbooks and DVD's forced me to focus on the positive (something that I was having a much harder time doing, as they daycare years drew to a close). But the spirit of giving was lost.

This morning's post is inspired by a 'note of gratitude' that I received from a friend this morning.

I had completely forgotten what I had done until she reminded me this morning. Again - it was something that cost nothing but time. A project that I struggled with a little because my creative juices weren't flowing from the onset. But with a little help from my friend, I kept tweaking it a little here and there. By the time I gave her the finished project, I had put it to rest in my mind. I had done my best. The end.

Then I received this gift from my friend this morning. The words "... I just feel so grateful ..." made my spirit soar. I had hoped that the end result of our collaborative effort would be okay. And I was grateful that it was.

The only words that compare to "Thank You" in my mind?

"You're Welcome" ... when I give, I give from within. The gifts may be small and without cost. The gift of giving is the best gift of all.