We’ve taught our daughters that thank you notes are a must.  Do they always get them written? Not at all.  Do I get them written? Nope, I’m just as guilty as my daughters. Time and effort are required, and sometimes both just get away from all of us.

I’m writing today for two reasons.  First, I read a book titled 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik.  As you might guess, the author spends a year, writing a thank you note for each of the 365 day involved.  It’s a fairly easy read and on that’s inspired me to continue writing thank yous.  Sometimes, those around us simply don’t know how much we mean to them.

Which leads me to the second reason for today’s blog: a thank you note received recently.  I’ve made no bones that last school year was a tough one, harder than I’ve ever experienced.  However, a few days ago, I got a note in the mail from a parent whose son is in this class.  It was one of the more thoughtful written thank you notes I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, talking about the impact that I made both on her son and the class with some things we do.  It’s notes like this that go into the “happy file” that I pull out from time to time when I need to recharge.  I will talk with this parent at some point to say “thank you for the thank you” (yes, I’m a bit of a dork), but it’s more than that.  They took the time in their own busy summer to let me know that my effort was appreciated.  I’m not much of a wordsmyth, but it just gave me a glow for certain.

But it also got me thinking, why don’t we do this more often?  The above mentioned time and effort are a problem, but why can’t we go to our teaching partners and thank them for a job well done?  I’ve got a few goals for the school year (surviving 100 students a day is at the top) and being more thankful, more grateful of the people around me is one of them.  I work with the best staff in the world, hands down.  We all get a little beat up from time to time, and I want each of them to know they matter and they are doing great work.  I cannot wait to start this.

What’s something you might do to help show your gratitude?  Think about it. 🙂