Are E-thanks enough?

These days we are a culture of instant gratification and I am admittedly part of that culture.

Please don’t question the Zappos.com App on my iPad.  I swear the site has gotten at least a thousand more hits since early May when I began round-the-clock nursing. Who doesn’t love shoe shopping at 2am to stay awake?  Please don’t sneer at the packages on my doorstep for everything from first communion gifts to some new summer dresses that are cool, forgiving, and nursing-friendly.  I swear, the shipping was free!  And please don’t scoff at my online pizza ordering–they promised I could build-my-own with the click of my mouse and it would be here in 30 minutes.  Talk about a panacea for a hungry family with a postpartum mommy.

We are an e-culture.  We click mouses.  We wield the world.

However, with all this power, can we say a proper thanks over e-mail?

I would say an emphatic, “NO!”  When it comes to thank-you note writing, I take out the pen and paper.  There is no replacement.  The time taken to craft, write, and send is part of my thanks.  It shows I’ve taken the extra measure to make sure the other person knows of my gratitude.

I should leave it at that, but I’ll be honest, I also expect it in return.  This is the sinful part.  Christ gave selflessly and so should I.  We recently attended a wedding and gave a gift, to which we received a post card written to all the guests in thanks.  While the sentiment was nice, I have to admit feeling a little empty-handed when it arrived.  I wanted to hear that she liked the gift, how she thought she was going to use it, and how married life was treating her.  Were my expectations high?  Probably.

But will I expect my children to learn the art of thank-you-note-writing?  You’d better believe it.

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me the importance of saying thanks.  I’ll be sending those thoughts in writing soon.