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. You can use the universal thank you I wrote (see link below) as it'll really help you write what to say.
Hi Pam, June 13, 2015
: June 14, 2015 12:20 a.m.
Hi Fiona,
June 15, 2015 8:08 p.m.
Dear Pam.
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
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,
