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.

Testing...is this thing on?

Recently at a family gathering, a dear uncle thanked me for the fun-to-read thank you notes I sent on behalf of my kids for the Christmas gifts they received. He said I should've been a writer. I chuckled at the thought. I really do have a good time writing thank you notes--Christmas, birthdays. In fact, I get a lot of, "thank you for the lovely thank you. You have such a nice way of writing. I look forward to receiving them."

I try to tell a little story other than just:

Thank you for the toy. I like it a lot. I like to play with it all the time. Love, Cate.

It goes more like:

Dear Uncle Cliff, thank you so much for the Groovy Girls sticker fun book. I love the groovy girls! It was the first thing I wanted to play with. I like to have the Groovy Girls surfing on the beach. I really think the treasure chest you gave me was a lot of fun. I ate my chocolate right away, I cuddled with my little bear, I placed my snowglobe in my room, I shared my candy with Grandma and Grandpa, I colored with my new crayons...phew! I hope mommy remembered anything. Well, I've run out of room. I can't wait to see you at the big party at your house. Love, Cate

Okay, okay, I know that's not exactly how kids talk. But you get the idea and the recipients seem to enjoy it.

Damn, I digress on my first blog. Go figure. A friend introduced me to this site and so I thought, what the heck? Maybe I can write more than just a thank you note from time to time. Even if I am writing to myself, it could be fun to jot down the ramblings in my mind.


So....testing....is this thing on?