It’s Time To Share Your Thankfulness
Dear Mom and Dad: I am writing this letter to you because I appreciate you more than anything on Earth! When I’m down in the ditch, you bring me out and appreciate what I do. Love, Amber
This is National Write A Letter of Appreciation Week. It would be easy to dismiss this as just one more gimmicky week. Every cause, every product, every idea seems to have a week or month set aside for special attention. There are so many such weeks in existence now that we have an unofficial policy at the newspaper not to mark them, unless they truly stand out with some meaning. This one does.
National Write A Letter of Appreciation Week began two years ago. It was the brainchild of an Illinois small business owner who believed we live in a world grown thankless. He also lamented the loss of a dying art - letter writing. So his idea was born. Requirements of the week are simple. Write a letter of appreciation to a person who has made a difference in your life. Maybe a teacher, coach, friend, parent, a grandparent. Recount for them the actions they did or the words they spoke that helped, encouraged or motivated you. Then give or send the letter to them. That’s it.
Dear Grandma and Grandpa: Thank you for always being there for me like when I’m off school and my parents have to work. You watch me, no problem. Love, Emilio
The exercise is easy and fun. At Brentwood Elementary School recently, several classes did the letter-writing exercise with ease. The young people were thankful for moms “who make the family a big dinner,” older brothers and sisters who “when you aren’t teasing me, you can be really appealing,” and baby sitters who “get an icepack when I hit my head on the cement.” One boy was grateful for “the U.S. military because it protects us from our enemies,” and another child was thankful for television because “you have entertained me over the years.”
Writing a letter of thanks generates many blessings. Letter writers must pause and be grateful to someone, viewing that person in a different way, if only for a few written lines. Those who receive the letters might be surprised to know their actions made inroads into others’ lives. Ours is a culture fueled by criticism and constant advice about how to do things better. So, being thanked lets us know that most of the time, we are good enough.
Dear Dad: You’re the most fabulous dad in the universe. You have been there when I needed a soccer coach. When you coach us, you encourage us to keep trying. Nobody could have a dad like you because you’re one of a kind. Love, Jessica.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rebecca Nappi For the editorial board