The Drive to be Thanked
Yesterday, I had the chance to learn with my friends at the Riverdale Senior Center, Kinneret Day School’s across the hall neighbors. I came there wanting to get insight from the wiser generation about thank you notes. Why is it that some people, and often older people, get so upset and even insulted when they do not receive a thank you note? I have often seen people get emotional when they do not receive something in the mail, and wanted my new friends to help me understand why. We bounced around a few possibilities: 1-Educational-”Kids have got to learn to say thank you.” As parents and educators, we all know that we are trying to raise appreciative people. When someone receives, they must thank. It is basic human decency to show appreciation and the thank you note is a clear indicator of this הכרת הטוב hakarat ha tov, recognizing the good. 2-Functional-One of our participants told me that his mother used to call the thank you note the “bread and butter” note. You hav