Quick Thank-You Letter Sufficient Closure

Dear Miss Manners: Prior to moving to a new job, I wrote letters of appreciation to some of my clients, bidding farewell and asking for letters of reference if they were pleased with my services. I enclosed stamped, self-addressed envelopes.

Some have called with well-wishes and promises of letters. As these letters come in, should I then write thank-yous? I want to balance appreciation with closure and moving on. Your advice is appreciated.

Gentle reader: So is your interest in thank-you letters. Miss Manners so rarely has the opportunity of warning people not to overdo them.

The danger here, as you have guessed, is their thinking you are not moving on and that they will therefore be expected to do yet another favor. Therefore a quick note saying that the letter was of great help is better than a saga that itself seems to require acknowledgement.