#32. Write thank-you notes for everything

I was beginning to think thank-you notes had gone the way of the dodo bird. Kind of the same way hand-written letters are never received from anyone from anyone other than my grandmother. Like clockwork after every wedding shower, wedding, or baby shower a cute thank-you card would be received in the mail within a few weeks.

I for my wedding being the overly organized person that I am had a spreadsheet with names, address', what the gift was etc that could all be exported into the label wizard and printed to easily address the cards. For EVERY gift a card was sent with a personalized note thanking the guests for their generosity.

There has been one wedding that I attended that a thank-you card was never received and it was the talk of the attendees for months after the wedding and years later is still brought up often in conversation. I ALWAYS make sure people are thanked.

At work I’m not so much a thank-you card, however I am one of those annoying people who end 99% of their emails with a “Thanks!.” Or often I’ll add one of these:

I’d also like to thank you as I’ve been MIA lately. There are a zillion things on the go and well only 10 days until the big 3-0. I have drafts of posts and ideas and jotted notes all over the place, it’s just finding the time.

So thanks for your patience, be prepared to be bombarded the next 10 days, I have 17 more things to do.

#47. Be a gracious guest

Sad to say but T & I don’t really spend the night other’s houses very often. One of us will stay sober and drive home because we love our bed so much and love sleeping in and not feeling weird about it. Is it just me or when you sleep at other’s houses do you hear everything so therefore not really get a good night’s sleep at all? Not to mention if you wake up earlier than everyone you question if you should stay in bed or wander out and watch some TV? I have found having a book in your bag works wonders for avoiding this awkward situation.


However, over Easter weekend marked the first time I had ever gotten to go to my sister’s place (yes she used to live with us) and spend the night. I thought about not visiting at all, let alone spending the night as less than seven days prior to my visit they found a snake in the house! I don’t know about you, but when I see a snake I lose my s$%t. They also live in a town with no Tim Horton’s – did anyone think a town like this even existed anymore?! I thought all Tim Hortonsless towns had become extinct?

However we were arriving late, and leaving early as we were cross border shopping early the next day to return back to my parents with enough time to enjoy an early Easter dinner. So it would just be an evening with a few drinks, a hockey game, and great conversation.

I made sure we arrived right on time and brought our beverage choice with us as to not have to venture out to find alcohol. They had mentioned their computer had become so slow they wanted to toss it out the window so T spent some time fixing the problem.

When it was time to go to sleep my sister had shown us an upstairs bedroom we could have that she had just cleaned and made the bed. There were also two couches in the living room and had provided blankets in case one of us wanted to sleep on a couch (the bed was small compared to our bed and we don’t like to touch). So instead of disturbing her perfectly set up guest room we each took a couch.

In the morning we were up and dressed and out of the way before the rush to get out of the house took place.

While we were considered guests in my sister and her boyfriend’s house, I don’t think you can ever be a guest in a family members home – it’s more like an extension of yours.