Thank-you

I had a conversation with a good friend yesterday, we were talking about trying to be better mothers and wives. Its kinda funny because we were both talking about how we feel pressure of all these things going on around us that just ends up stressing us out, one of the things that came up was thank-you notes, I have to admit I have been terrible with sending thank-you notes over the past few years, pretty much since Kate's 3rd birthday party. I had the best of intentions, I was even just going to send e-mail thank-yous but truth be told I just never got around to it. It doesn't mean I am not thankful though, I can actually look around both of my girls rooms and point out where and who most of their toys came from, Kate got a Dora bat and ball from Luke and Darby, Dora play doh set from Grace, her Maggie Leigh doll from Keaton, safety kids CD which we listen to alll the time from Matthew, the list goes on, from Sara's room (this one is a little tougher as Sara's birthday was big chaos and her cousins and sister helped open her presents so some of them I don't know who they came from) Gabrielle gave her these little Disney books, we actually didn't read them for the first few months but now they are some of Sara's favourite things, her rooster flashlight from Lindsey, PJ's from the Cooke's which she is just out growing and has worn a billion times, a cool Elmo giggle ball who unfortunately I don't know who that came from, etc, etc. And what about other times people have served me? Like the time when Annie McQ gave Eric and I the biggest sandwich you have ever seen when Kate was in the NICU that fed us for 3 days, other dinners that have been brought over and times that people have watched my kids, for real, I have many, many, many thank-yous to send. Am I terrible because I haven't always sent notes? has anyone else ever bailed on the note sending? I seem to get them a lot which kinda adds to the guilt. One of the things that came up was about paying it forward, here is my theory: I'm not 100% convinced that you need to give back directly to the person who has served you, for example - when Sara was a few months old I was miserably sick, 102º fever, I'd seen Christina Anderson at church the day I was feeling it, the next day when I felt I could go on no longer some soup landed on my doorstep, I have never been more grateful for a delicious hot meal in my life, I have never actually taken dinner to Christina but instead have tried to do the same thing for someone else. My point is that maybe people do nice things for you and you can't give back right now but as long as you do give back at some point and to someone, even if it is someone else then that counts, does that make sense?

Anyway, point of this post? THANK-YOU to everyone I should have sent thank-you's to but haven't, I do plan on getting better at it but for now I hope this will do. Sad thing is most people I owe a thank-you to don't read my blog but hopefully if I send this out to the universe it will count in some way.