The "Thank You" cards are in the mail...

Finally, finally! The thank you notes from Cate's birthday party back in February are in the mail.

I am generally quicker on the turnaround, but for whatever reason, I kept pushing them off this time. I wanted to make sure Cate would be involved in creating the notes. Sometimes I add a photo, or a special drawing. But this time, I had her decorate the front of the card. She chose to use stickers and markers. We sat down shortly after 7pm and finished around 9pm. Thirteen cards. I had a "good idea" moment and had her decorating a card while I wrote in her voice (see January 2008 post: "Testing...Is This Thing On?") on a different one and then we switched. I read her each message I wrote, which she then approved. It was nice to see that she also can appreciate each gift for different reasons. A favorite toy from this person, a favorite item of clothing from those people, some money to use for something special, etc.

One particularly touching moment was when we were writing Uncle Cliff's thank you note. He gave her a very pretty, delicate pendant and chain. It was made in Norway, which is part of our heritage. He also gave her a Pooh activity kit. He is always mindful of what kids really want. I reminded her of the gifts, particularly the necklace and her expression got very serious. She thought for a moment, then said, "Uncle Cliff must really love me." And I replied, "yes he does, honey." Then she said, "and I love Uncle Cliff too!" She chuckled and then stated, "Uncle Cliff...he's a really OLD uncle!"

She put the most effort into Uncle Cliff's card--covering it with a lot of hand-drawn hearts. She even included a drawing of herself with a bubble thought above her head containing another heart so he would know how much she loved him.

I have no doubt he'll know.