Procrastination to Paralyzed Because You Owe Thank You Notes

The following is correspondence between one of our Club Organized “elite” members and me. If you owe thank you notes, this conversation will inspire you to write them now.

Hi Pam, June 13, 2015

My daughter was married 9 years ago and she is now pregnant with their fourth child. I am so embarrassed to say that I told her I’d write thank you notes and send them to the two ladies from church who sewed her wedding gown and made the bouquets for the bride and bridesmaids.

I had thank you note cards, but I wanted to put a little something with them like a gift card. But I always put off buying the gift cards as I never seemed to have enough money to get the amount I wanted to put in them. The thank you cards have never been sent. My dear daughter is not aware I have never sent them and I have never had the courage to tell her so that she could send something herself instead and so the time just ticks by…….

Fiona Van Lent

June 14, 2015 12:20 a.m.

Hi Fiona,

Today’s the day to stop that ticking clock. Are the two ladies from church still around? If they’re not dead, take a half hour today and write them each an honest note of truth. Tell them you’re embarrassed. Tell them your daughter doesn’t know you didn’t thank them. Tell them the reason, because it’s really lovely. Tell them how awful it is to go from procrastination to paralyzed to shame to avoidance (if indeed you’ve not been yourself around them at church as the clock ticked on). All because you had such good intentions. Tell your daughter (after you write the letters to the two ladies). It’s never too late to say thank you and I’m sorry and to pay them a little something. Then you’ll be free Fiona. I want a report! I want to be able to tell about you to inspire others who are in the same sort of belated boat as you are. You know in your heart how right and good this is to do for you! Congratulations Grandma on having three grandchildren and one on the way.

Best to you,

Pam

June 15, 2015 8:08 p.m.

Dear Pam.

It’s done – how liberating!

When you ‘told’ me to “stop that ticking clock,” I was challenged, knowing that you were cheering me on and that I was to be accountable to you, so I chose to do it. It was Sunday so it was late in the afternoon when I found some time to set to the task. I went to my box of blank cards and found two nice ones with flowers on them. I printed off your universal thank you/apology letter you wrote for us to use.

http://blog.makeitfunanditwillgetdone.com/thank-you-thank-you

I thought about what I needed to say and started to write. This is what I said to the lady who sewed the dress.

Dear Paddy,

I owe you a big thank you for the sewing of Sarah’s beautiful wedding dress you lovingly made so long ago, without so much as a simple card in the mail to convey my profound appreciation. I’m sorry. I want to take this opportunity to thank you now [You are not the only one I owe a thank you and an apology]. I have always known I needed to thank you.

I seem to have mislaid the original cards and now I am truly embarrassed. Sarah doesn’t know I haven’t thanked you even though, way back then, I said I would. I had wanted to give you a gift card as a token of appreciation but there never seemed to be enough money to give what I wanted. It is awful to go from procrastination to paralysed to shame to avoidance all because I had such good intentions that never came to pass.

So I’m writing this to you because I need you to know that I’m truly sorry and I appreciate what you did for Sarah – and so too, me.

Please accept my apology and this note of appreciation.

God’s richest blessings for you.

Love,

Fiona

The second card was for the lady who did the flowers. It said the same thing except it was to thank her for making the bouquets for Sarah (our middle child!) and the girls (my three other girls were the bridesmaids).

After I wrote the cards I remembered I hadn’t thanked another lady who sewed one of the bridesmaid’s dresses so I have done one for her too.

I found some photos on the computer of the wedding and made a print of the flowers and the dresses and found a pic of the three grandchildren on my daughters Face Book page that was up-to-date with them holding a copy of the scan of baby number four. It didn’t take long as I love working on the computer.

I took a pic for you to see.

I had also found some “Thank you” stickers when I was getting my address labels for the backs of the envelopes so I used them too. It was actually fun! I also included some bookmarks I got from a fund raiser and chose one to suit them as well.

I went to our local Bendon (Lingerie) Shop and got some gift cards and they came in little envelopes that I named and wrote with love from Fiona. Then I put on a stamp and popped them into the post box, right next to where I was parked and – they were gone!

They were done!

I am free!

I am so happy. It didn’t take the effort I thought it would. I was encouraged. I was given words – I didn’t have to spend hours thinking about what to say and how to say it. I was given a “starting gun” - Today’s the day to stop that ticking clock. I was given a time frame - take a half hour today. (The card writing only took that amount of time.) I was given an unknown gift of being set free from the guilt that was harbouring for years. Thank you.

As I was hanging the washing in the breeze this afternoon I was thinking about it all and how good it feels. I wondered why it took this reminder from you to take care of these past missed thank yous and why I hadn’t just done it myself. Then I seemed to get a nudging and reminder of the scripture 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I had first thought it was worded “If we confess with our mouth…” and that in ‘confessing’ to you I had spoken it out. Then because I had taken action the weight (be it ‘sin’ that I had neglected or not) had been lifted and I was washed of that sin.

So again, Thank you.

Blessings to you

Fiona Van Lent

Mumsey’s Ramblings

Getting organized just enough to please you, is a nobel goal. When you do that, you'll get correspondence like thank you notes taken care of so it doesn't sap your joy. The Joy of Being Disorganized was written to help you get organized just enough to please you.

Love,

Procrastination to Paralyzed Because You Owe Thank You Notes

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