They’re words not used often enough. Watching students climb out of their cars this morning I heard many say, “Love you!” “See ya!” but no “Thank you”. It flashed me back to elementary school as I was wrapping up another year of selling Girl Scout cookies. I had my phone etiquette down pat. And I mean down. “Yes, sir.” “No ma’am.” The whole bit, including “Thank you for purchasing your cookies from me.” As I climbed out of the family 1993 red Chevy Blazer, I didn’t say “Love you!” or “See ya!” My brain went on auto pilot and said “Thank you” to my Dad. My head kinda did a double take as did my Dad’s and he chuckled as I slammed the car door and hustled to the playground.
When he rolled through the line to pick me up in the Blazer that was to be my college car, I apologized to him for saying, “Thank you,” instead of “Love you!” And explained why my brain had spoken for me. Dad continued his chuckle and commented that it was nice to hear. Why had I never said thank you to either of my parents before for dropping me off and picking me up from school? Goodness knows they’d done it for roughly 5 years at that point. And no “Thank you” until 5th grade. Needless to say, I began to exchange “Love you!” for “Thank you” more often after that.
When he rolled through the line to pick me up in the Blazer that was to be my college car, I apologized to him for saying, “Thank you,” instead of “Love you!” And explained why my brain had spoken for me. Dad continued his chuckle and commented that it was nice to hear. Why had I never said thank you to either of my parents before for dropping me off and picking me up from school? Goodness knows they’d done it for roughly 5 years at that point. And no “Thank you” until 5th grade. Needless to say, I began to exchange “Love you!” for “Thank you” more often after that. Back to this morning though. Why doesn’t “Thank you” come more naturally to us? Why is it awkward and cumbersome? Who have we neglected to say “Thank you” to lately? On the day that President Obama is set to declare the Iraq war over without saying “Mission Accomplished”, here’s a video that has circulated my inbox on saying “Thank you” to a very special group of people: Gratitude Campaign
