Carolyn’s Therapy Sessions

A lesson from the guys May 23, 2008

I bet most women feel that men are pretty uncivilized without us women keeping them in line. Admit it, we ladies think that men would be walking around dragging their knuckles on the ground, unshaven, mismatched clothes, without a decent meal to eat, and not a single social skill if it wasn’t for us women. This may or may not be totally true, but I think the guys have something to teach us in regards to thanks yous.

Thanks yous. Men have it down. Ladies, take notes. Men give thank yous like this: A nice thing is done for them, they say thanks to the person’s face. End of story. Here’s how women handle the same situation: A nice thing is done for them. They say thank you to the person’s face. Then they write and mail a thank you card. Then they worry if the letter was received and if the person knows how truly thankful they are. Or if a simple thank you card it’s enough, they send a thank you card with a gift card as well! They want you to be sure that they are REALLY, REALLY, REALLY thankful.

Give me a break! I’m so tired of the womanly thank yous of the world. Every time I turn around some woman is trying to collect money to go towards a group thank you, for a teacher, a coach, whoever! It’s getting to where I bet teachers, coaches, or others in charge of stuff begin to expect they’re going to get monetary gifts for doing their jobs. Now before I go and sound too ungrateful, let me say that I am really thankful for all the great teachers and leaders who help guide my children along the way. They are priceless to me! But I’m not going to shell out money to chip in for a gift card for every teacher and coach, every year and every season, for every child that I have. That’s just ridiculous. How about a nice thank you note? Perhaps one on just a piece of paper instead of fancy stationary. Or, maybe we could just talk to them to their faces and express our thanks for all their hard work. I know, crazy idea, huh?

I guess I would never make a good room parent in my kids’ classes at school. It is the room parents’ job to collect money for the teachers’ gifts. I would end that tradition real quick. I’ve had enough. I’m all for good manners, being polite and thankful. But I’m not for wasting money. And I’m not for excessive thank yous. So stop it already.

Thank you.