Too busy for manners?

Have we really become a society that no longer feels that we should have manners or etiquette?









I found an interesting and scary story the other day that brought back memories of receiving a thank you card similar to this.  As the story was explained on another blog......... the person had not been able tp attend a baby shower, so they mailed their gift late.  That would prevent it's early arrival and the possibility of the surprise being ruined.  It probably was a good thing that she had not attended because of the report she heard afterwards.

It seems that another relative was able to attend the party and the story she told was appalling.  When she arrived at the shower, the girl's sister-in-law checked the woman's name off the list and she was handed a pre-printed card exactly like this one.  The card was signed with the expectant couple's names but the handwriting looked to someone else's handwriting.  The expectant mom also refused to open the gifts during the party even though that was the family tradition.  The woman thought that there would probably be a more personal thank you card sent out after the gifts had been opened privately.

The woman who had sent her gift for the baby shower did not receive a thank you card until after the baby had been born four months later.  Surprise, surprise....... it was the same pre-printed thank you card the guests had received at the party.  This one was also signed by someone else and the return address was not the parent's address but was the person who had signed the cards address.

This story brought back a memory I had of a wedding I attended quite some time ago.  A month or so afterwards, I received the thank you card in the mail for the gift i had given the newlyweds.  Instead of a personal note..... I received a card made from a folded photocopy of a picture of the happy couple taken at the wedding.  The inside was made up of a copy of their thank you message.  This was long before the types of media we have available today but even then, I felt it was tacky and a lazy way out.

I have nothing against emails or texts but I expect that if that is the thank you message, it had better something personal and not a group message.  Somehow I think many have lost their way with the help of technology.  The very idea that someone could think that sending a group invitation to an event as personal as a wedding or baby shower is lazy.  Sending out or worse as in this case.... handing out a pre-printed thank you card makes me want to just take back the gift.

Actually, I wouldn't take back the gift.  I would do my best to show them the error of their way.

Taking the time to send a card through the snail mail always brings a smile to a person's face.  It means that you took a few extra minutes from your day to do something special.




Thank you to : http://www.etiquettehell.com/

for sharing the story and the memories.......