Annie’s Mailbox: No thank-you note from lazy couple

Dear Annie: I was taught the bride and groom had one year to send a handwritten thank-you note following a wedding. Shower gifts are to be acknowledged within two weeks of the bridal shower.

In the past two years, however, the closest I’ve gotten is a postcard with a wedding picture of the bride and groom on one side and “Thanks for everything” on the other. If a handwritten, proper thank-you note is too difficult, I would much prefer an email acknowledging my specific gift than a bulk mail postcard. – Appalled in Georgia

Dear Georgia: There is no excuse for not decently thanking those who have taken the time and effort to purchase a gift. It’s sheer laziness and lack of consideration.

However, we’d like to correct a common misperception: Guests have a year in which to give the bridal couple a gift, but thank-you notes should be written immediately, and certainly within three months.

Dear Annie: “Devastated Daughter” said her father died suddenly in an accident and she isn’t sure about leaving Mom alone to attend college out of state.

If she chooses to defer admission, I would advise her to wait a full year and start school in the fall so she can “learn the ropes” with the rest of her classmates. I enrolled in the second semester, and it was so much harder because my classmates were ahead of me in every way. And when I graduated in December, it was difficult to find a job. – Winter Graduate