Expressing Thanks

When I was in undergrad, I worked for a woman cleaning her house a few hours every week. While I worked for her, we formed a positive relationship, one that continues today even though I no longer clean her house. She was a great example for me of a great boss, and one of the things that she did to help form a relationship with me and invest in me was to give me a holiday gift. These weren’t just cheap, small gifts. They were thoughtful and expressed a bit of herself while also trying to give me something that she thought I would like. I was grateful for these gifts, and you better believe I made sure to keep working hard for her.

Tomorrow I am taking a bit of an early Christmas gift to my daughter’s two daycare teachers. I think they’ve been having rough spots in their personal lives recently and could use something nice. I am so grateful to have them in my and my daughter’s lives. They work hard to make sure that my daughter is happy and growing well. They listen to me and my concerns, which I’m sure they’ve heard from oh so many parents. If they also happen to keep an extra bit of an eye on my daughter in the next few weeks, after the gift, I won’t say no to that either. I primarily want to promote positive relationships with them and express my deep appreciation for them.

Whether you view it as a practical matter (gift = keep working hard) or as a big softie (yay relationships!), I find that it’s worth expressing gratitude for those who help make your life a bit easier. The holiday season is an ideal time to do just that. I even tipped the mailman last year, and when I got pregnant and had trouble bringing some of those packages inside in February, he was super helpful. Maybe he would have been just as helpful had we not tipped him a couple months earlier, but it certainly didn’t hurt. He at least knows who we are because we have a relationship with him, and if someone tries to break into our house sometime, our mailman might be the one to call the cops that there’s a stranger hanging around our house.

People to consider thanking:

• Teachers and daycare workers
• Lawn workers
• Cleaning staff
• Pet walkers
• Mailmen or delivery guys, especially if they deliver frequently enough for you to recognize them.
• Restaurant staff or bartenders, especially if they do “extra” things for you regularly or go out of their way on a regular basis. Just a bigger tip and quick written note sometime around the holidays is great for these folks.

Anyone who is a regular part of keeping your life together is worth considering for a gift. Even just a thank you note and small gift goes a long way. One of the student workers in the library has really done a lot to help me this semester. I already know what I’m going to get her.