dear daughters: 8 Reasons to Write Thank You Notes

dear daughters,

Next to an alabaster cup full of colorful pens is my list of friends and family who gave me a gift over the holidays. As I sit down to write these thank you notes, I realize though I always told you to write thank you notes when you were young, I never really told you why I feel thank you notes are important.

susie davis alabaster pen cup

While sipping my coffee and looking at the darling little stamps I got at the post office, I thought to encourage you to write thank you notes by listing some good reasons to write them.

  1. It’s Just Nice. Writing a note is a teeny tiny way to say thank you when people are so enormously kind.
  2. Handwriting Benefits Your Mind. Science indicates handwriting has calming effects, increases left and right brain coordination, etc. You think I am bluffing? Read here.
  3. Slows the Pace of Life. You’ll need stamps, so you’ll go to the post office and that act itself will slow the pace of your life. There is no rush at the post office. Nobody is running around hyped to meet a deadline. It’s a nice throwback to our culture’s pace.
  4. Exercise for Your Inner Artist. I’m big-time into doodling. They say it’s soothing. But I just think it’s fun. You can doodle on your thank you notes. That’s what Karen did for me and it turned into a PIE tea towel.hand printed PIE flour sack towel
  5. Unveils Your Style. In a world of continual online comparison, your handwriting is an inborn element of your unique design. No one in the world writes like you. There is 1% of your DNA that is completely and totally YOU and it not duplicated ANYWHERE IN THE WHOLE WORLD! That’s big.
  6. Helps Discover Your Writer’s Voice. Am I suggesting that a simple thank you note helps you uncover your writer’s voice? Yep. And I think it can unlock major writer’s block too. Because while typing for the purpose of writing a book (or some other deadline-y kind of thing) is super intimidating, writing a note to your grandmother and grandfather is not.
  7. Creates Gratitude. Thinking about how and why someone went to the trouble to get you a gift is humbling. How greatly you are loved!
  8. Pens & Paper. You know I am wildly addicted to pens. Le Pen, Paper Mate Flair and most recently Sakara Micron Pens. And there is so much beautiful note paper in the world. I especially love finding handcrafted paper goods from artists like Annie of Paper + Twine.

paper + twineSo there you go. Just a few reasons. And oh …one more little reason: Because your mama always told you so.

Love you big time.

xoxo.