Ever since I was a young child, I can always remember my mother's words ringing in my ears, "Whenever someone gives you something. I do not care what it is. You have to write a thank you." I was taught (and my brother) that words mean something, and a thank-you is a note that is cherished forever by the one who receives it. Every birthday party we had, we wrote thank you's at our round kitchen table right afterwards. Every holiday, my mom made everyone in the family sign the card and write a thoughtful message. Every birthday we did the same thing. Then of course there were "I'm sorry cards" and "I'm grateful cards" and "I'm thinking of you cards" and every card in between. And you know, as a kid, it never really bothered me. Today I know that what we were practicing was actually a hidden whimsical gem and even some would agree-a completely lost art form. Sure, there are blogs and instant messenges and text messages and facebook messages and instagram messages. Yet, many do not require proper spelling or really even proper thought. I remember as a kid trying my darndest to use neat handwriting, sometimes even practicing my cursive. I cared about the words I put down on paper. I wanted to be neat and clean. Even more, I wanted to send a message worth reading, and even as a kid, I knew that "the thought" takes time, patience, careful words and forward-thinking. 

Today I teach letter-writing to kids and most of them have no clue what a greeting is or even how to go about writing one. Regardless, the one thing they learn in my third grade class is that words are meaningful. Words have power and they can be full of grace and full of love and that can be life-changing. At indoor-recess on Friday, I came in on Friday with every board of my classroom covered with messages of love. They were short messages, but I could tell that these words had power and truth and love behind them. I most definitely teared up and thanked all of my students for their heart-felt messages. 

Even a little note of encouragement can go a long way. It can turn a good day into a bad day. It can turn a lonely day into beautiful one. The message of love can be written within a short thank-you. It can mean the world to that one individual who happens to be the receiver of that beautiful message. 

If you have not written a note in a while, I encourage you to do so. If you have not written a thank-you in a while, you should. Afterall, I still have a collection of every nice note ever written by my elementary librarian underneath my bed. I never once even considered throwing those notes away. In fact, it could be one of the reasons I am so drawn to the librarians I visit today. Even today, the fact that I was "a golden librarian helper" means the world to me. And it's no coincidence that the message my eighth grade band teacher wrote in my yearbook is the same note of encouragement I pass on to my own students at the end of the year. I can still remember his words: "Miss Amoscato-your quiet type of leadership is the best kind." Every beautiful mentor I have ever had (my parents, my brother, my husband, my former teachers and friends) have managed to shape my love through their beautiful hand-written messages. They are absolutely impossible to forget.