Giving Up

Tonight I decided that I'm officially giving up. I'm not going to write anymore thank you notes for a while, and I'm not going to feel guilty about it. Tonight I pulled out my bag to add some names to the list of people I still need to thank, and I discovered that at some point over the last few weeks, my system for keeping track of finished thank you notes broke down. I have no idea who I sent notes to and who I still need to send notes to. This process of writing notes has been hanging over my head for months. Every time I sit down to write, my emotions go haywire, and I always end up drained after only writing a few notes.

At this point, I'm just saying sorry to everyone that did not get a personal note from me. I truly appreciated each and every gift and word of encouragement! So many people gave me so much over the past several months. Someday, I'll have to write a blog post highlighting many of the amazing thoughtful things people have done for me.

The straw that broke the back of my thank you writing camel came in the mail about a month ago. When I got home from work a package was laying by the front door. Upon opening it, I found a bound book with a leather cover. The book was about the size of a high school yearbook. The cover was engraved in gold with the words, "In Memory of Jason Young." As I flipped through the book, I noticed that the first few pages were cheesy poems and words of advice about grieving. The back half was filled with summarized Bible stories and really bad illustrations of a pasty white Jesus in flowing robes. All in all, the book struck me as completely cheesy. I most certainly did not appreciate it, and I doubt if I'll ever look at it again.

Included in the package was a letter from the editor of the book explaining how local businesses had helped sponsor the gift. The letter noted that I should refer to the pages of sponsoring businesses printed in the book. For my convenience the publisher included 15 thank you cards, so I could easily thank all of the businesses for their generous gift to make this book possible. My first thought was, "You've got be kidding me!" Okay, I am a grieving widow, working full time with a small baby. I have a hundred things on my plate, and you want me to take the time and energy to send thank you notes to 15 businesses for a book I don't want and will never use. I have a hundred people I love and care about who have bent over backwards for me, and I don't have the time and energy to properly thank them. What makes you think adding more thank you notes to my list is a good idea?

(Moral of the story...if anyone ever approaches your business with a great idea to sponsor a cheesy book for people who have just lost a family member, say no thank you and walk away.)

Okay, enough raving about that stupid gift. I really am so incredibly thankful for everyone who continues to pray, encourage, and financially support me. You really are the people who help me get through the difficult days. Thank you one and all!