Most of us grew up with a constant reminder to use the magic words: PLEASE and THANK YOU. In days gone by, being polite was not only appreciated but also expected. I am not saying those days are gone, but as our society becomes more self-centered with an entitlement mentality, I am hearing the magic words less and less.  Last Halloween as costumed children knocked on my door eagerly awaiting their treat, I was sad and annoyed by their rudeness and greed. One child had the nerve to say, “Don’t you have anything else?” By the end of the night, only two had said thank you.

When my daughter was in middle school, she played in a summer tennis tournament. In most tournaments, your first loss sends you to the back draw, and your second loss sends you home. It can happen in a matter of hours. For some players, the three-day event can be over the same day. Since my daughter was a beginner, we didn’t expect the tournament to last long. The tournament director, however, was a high school teacher who wanted the kids to keep playing. He set up the tournament in a round robin draw so all the players played the same number of matches. My daughter lost more matches than she won, but went home a happy camper since she got to play the entire tournament. When we finally left my daughter said to me, “That was so fun! I am going to write Mr. Scott a thank you note.”

Let me be the first to say that I was not a perfect mother (my kids would agree)! But one thing I did right was teach my kids to express gratitude. My daughter wrote the thank you note and I made sure it got mailed. The following year as we checked in for the same tournament, Mr. Scott said to my daughter, “I still have your thank you note on my refrigerator. It’s the only one I’ve ever gotten from a tennis player.”

When children express gratitude, it gets noticed. Teaching children to say thank you is something that will stick with them for life. It is a habit to acquire at an early age. It is important to not only say it verbally but to express it with a thank you note or card. My kids had their own personalized stationery and return address labels. Their friends were jealous!

Here a few ideas of when to send thank you notes and whom to send them to:

• Teachers at the end of the school year
• Coaches at the end of a season
• Sunday school teachers
• Friends/relatives for birthday gifts or Christmas gifts
• Grandpa and Grandma after spending the weekend at their house

The list can go on forever—it’s about being aware of the people in our lives who are good to us. And remember—you can set the example by writing and mailing your own thank you notes.

Here’s to saying thank you all year long!

Crystal