Saying Thank You

All of the Thank You notes for our September wedding are now done. Shame on me for taking so long to get them out. Yes, I know that there's approximately a two-month grace period for newlyweds. Yes, I know, I exceeded that. Shame on me.

I've discovered that writing wedding thank you notes is one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. Not that the WRITING of the thank you notes was all that hard, in and of itself, but that saying "Thank you" to such people was incredibly difficult.

How do you thank the people who have made you who you are? How do you say "thank you" for a gift, knowing that what you're really thanking them for is their very presence in your life?

Here are some examples.

My parents: How do you thank them for a whole wedding (which, oh yeah, my dad officiated, as well as giving me away, organizing, and paying), plus all that they instilled in me to make me the person who was ready to get married?

My godparents: How do you thank them for coming halfway across the country, helping with all of the decorating and tearing down, helping to officiate (as my dad was giving me away), and a sizeable wedding gift?

My Matron of Honor: How do I thank her for being a thousand miles (plus plus) away from her husband for TEN days to help me get ready, a massive bash (requiring an extra plus-sized suitcase which she had to check both directions for flights) of a bachelorette party, a thousand gifts and thoughtful gestures, the hundreds of pictures she took, oh, yeah, and the fact that she knows me so well and still likes me?

And those are just a few of the incredible people in my life.

While I know that one little note is incapable of expressing that of which my heart is so full, I tried. Probably pathetically. But, I tried. I handwrote notes to people who deserve so much more, and then regretted that those who had given so much would get so little in return. I belong to the school of thought that would say that saying thank you is the important part, and that saying it in my own handwriting, in as thoughtful a manner as I could is the goal (which I did); it all still feels inadequate somehow.

I suppose that, when it's all said and done, I need to make sure that I live my life in such a way that those who have poured into it will be honored. Still working on that. Will be for a very long time, I believe.

Much love.
LL~