The disappearing thank-you note. -

Does no one send thank-you notes anymore?

Does that very question reveal that I am well above 50 and grew up when everyone did write notes? Or that I even remember what writing a note means?

Seriously. Is this really an age thing? I hear so many boomers complaining about their friends’ children, or their own younger relatives, who never acknowledge graduation, wedding, or birthday gifts. They sigh and say, oh, it’s just “this generation”.

Is that true? And if so, then tell me who raised “this generation”?

I just don’t get it.

I do get how busy everyone is. I do get how things have changed so much and younger people are doing a whole lot more than we (or at least I) was doing at their age. I get social media and all that jazz. I get summer internships and applying for schools and looking for a job and setting up a home and making sure your Facebook page is constantly refreshed.

But why should any of that get in the place of thanking someone? Or just acknowledging that a gift was received…that another person took the time to think about you, and either wrote a check or chose a gift, gave it to you, and hope you truly like it.

I can say this for sure, my mother made sure we understand the role of a thank-you note.

I sometimes truly grieve how handwritten notes of any kind seem to have gone away. Friends would put a note in your locker at school. A secret admirer might send you a card in the mail with a mysterious message inside, or even fold one under your car’s wipers to give you a smile in the morning. Generations before me perfected the art of writing love letters during wartime and sealing a bond that grew stronger despite the distance.

It meant something. And it was a joy to re-read years after the fact.

That’s being lost on this, or any generation that instead relies totally on an electronic device to convey emotion. I mean, really. 10 seconds for a text? Wow, doesn’t exactly give you goose bumps, does it?

I just don’t think 50 years from now in the assisted living halls you’ll be able to fondly look over that text and sigh.

Okay, I’m old. I admit it. But no one is too young to say thank you.