Miss Manners: Simple thanks will do for donation

Dear Miss Manners: We have received a gift from friends that actually was a gift of a goat to a family in another country in need of sustenance.

I was perplexed as to how to word the thank-you note.

“Thank you for thinking of us and others” seemed insufficient, but I struggled to come up with a second sentence.

Since this situation may reoccur, I would appreciate knowing the appropriate way to express our thanks.

Gentle Reader: Miss Manners just about had your letter of thanks written for you:

“We are thrilled with the delightful goat you so kindly gave us. What a merry and playful fellow he is. But we were moved to discover that he also has his serious side and is as committed to recycling as we are. Perhaps even more so, if you can imagine that.

“Last summer, when we grumbled about our rickety lawn mower, we little imagined that you were exercising your thoughtful ingenuity on our lawn problem.

“Only you could have come up with such a charming solution. …”

But wait. You don’t actually have the goat. It went to a more deserving family.

Miss Manners has no doubt that this is for the best all around – for you, the recipient and for your neighbors – but the fact remains that your friends did not give you a present. They got a twofer out of their philanthropy by merging their gift list with their charity list.

So your first sentence of thanks strikes her as perfectly adequate.

The second sentence should express your hope that the recipients’ lives will be made easier because of your friends’ donation.

You probably didn’t want your own goat, anyway.