Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use."
—Emily Post
This has been a week of firsts at Nesty! On Wednesday I introduced Window to My World, a post topic where I will periodically post a favorite image from my life, along with a quote that speaks to me on some level. Today, I am starting a new post series called Thoroughly Modern Manners, where I will address specific topics related to manners and etiquette. I'll begin today by addressing the issue of expressing thanks. The timing couldn't be more perfect, since I have something to say thank you for; my first blog award from Coryanne of Housewife Bliss!
Dear Mrs. Bliss,
When I visited your blog yesterday, I was delighted to discover that you had honored me with an award. Please accept my sincerest thanks. This is my first blog award, and I am so excited! I had a wonderful time deciding which award to choose. The blog button will make today's post look so festive and pretty.
Again, thank you so much!
Sincerely,
Nesty Girl
You can check out Coryanne's post, Blissful Awards and the Bliss Top Ten here. As part of accepting my award, I am supposed to tell you something about myself. I thought about rattling off my usual list of who I am and what I do, but those of you who follow my blog already know all of that (If you're new you can read about it here). So here is a new fact about the Nesty Girl; I used to take kickboxing lessons. I trained for a few years and I have a great right roundhouse kick. I miss it a lot, and would love the chance to train again. I found my old hand wraps the other day (we had different colours for different levels) and it's been on my mind, so it was kind of funny that we were asked to share something about ourselves!
And now for my post!
"Manners" and "etiquette" are sadly in short supply of late. For the life of me, I'm not sure how this happened. As children, my sisters and I were schooled in good manners by our mother, and it seemed that these social graces were observed by most of our relatives and friends. So it has been very strange for me to observe the decline of manners. In fact, even the basics of "please" and "thank you" are so rare that when you hear them, it's a treat.
Of course, not everyone is without courtesy, and there are still those who are trying with all their might to make a difference in a world gone rude, and to you, our sincere thanks. (For a great post about refreshingly well-behaved kids, please check out Pattycake Manner's post Good Kids.) It is my sincere belief that, just as children develop good manners through repetition, bad manners are the result of bad habits. In a world that goes way too fast, apparently it simply takes too much time to make the effort to do things nicely. Why write a thank you note when you can text "tks?"
Well, because it's the right thing to do. The problem lies in the fact that proper expressions of gratitude have become so rare that many people are left floundering as to how to do it correctly. Even simply accepting a gift in person leaves many flummoxed; "What if I don't like the gift?" I've heard more than one person ponder.
Luckily, there are resources for those to whom gratitude does not flow freely from either their lips or their pens. Legendary first lady of etiquette Emily Post lives on at emilypost.com. On the site there is a wealth of information for people of all ages, including gift giving and receiving FAQ's. Also, giftypedia has some good advice on both receiving a gift as well as thank you notes.
When in doubt? My rule is to err on the side of being too polite. Do you recall the old job interview rule about dressing a step above the role you are interviewing for? Well, when it comes to expressing thanks, going a step above what you think is required will rarely steer you wrong. So, the next time someone does something nice for you, why not pick up a pen and paper and send them a nice note? You'll feel good, they'll feel good, and the world will be a better place for your small but important contribution to the fine art of good manners.
Do you have an etiquette question or concern that you'd like me to research and address? If so, let me know in the comments or by email at nestyblog@gmail.com.
There are some great blog hops going on today! Fabulous Nest Friday is hosted by Housewife Bliss and it is fabulous!
As well I am linking to New Friend Friday, which is co-hosted by The Girl Creative and Trendy Treehouse.
And now for my post!
"Manners" and "etiquette" are sadly in short supply of late. For the life of me, I'm not sure how this happened. As children, my sisters and I were schooled in good manners by our mother, and it seemed that these social graces were observed by most of our relatives and friends. So it has been very strange for me to observe the decline of manners. In fact, even the basics of "please" and "thank you" are so rare that when you hear them, it's a treat.
Of course, not everyone is without courtesy, and there are still those who are trying with all their might to make a difference in a world gone rude, and to you, our sincere thanks. (For a great post about refreshingly well-behaved kids, please check out Pattycake Manner's post Good Kids.) It is my sincere belief that, just as children develop good manners through repetition, bad manners are the result of bad habits. In a world that goes way too fast, apparently it simply takes too much time to make the effort to do things nicely. Why write a thank you note when you can text "tks?"
Well, because it's the right thing to do. The problem lies in the fact that proper expressions of gratitude have become so rare that many people are left floundering as to how to do it correctly. Even simply accepting a gift in person leaves many flummoxed; "What if I don't like the gift?" I've heard more than one person ponder.
Luckily, there are resources for those to whom gratitude does not flow freely from either their lips or their pens. Legendary first lady of etiquette Emily Post lives on at emilypost.com. On the site there is a wealth of information for people of all ages, including gift giving and receiving FAQ's. Also, giftypedia has some good advice on both receiving a gift as well as thank you notes.
When in doubt? My rule is to err on the side of being too polite. Do you recall the old job interview rule about dressing a step above the role you are interviewing for? Well, when it comes to expressing thanks, going a step above what you think is required will rarely steer you wrong. So, the next time someone does something nice for you, why not pick up a pen and paper and send them a nice note? You'll feel good, they'll feel good, and the world will be a better place for your small but important contribution to the fine art of good manners.
Do you have an etiquette question or concern that you'd like me to research and address? If so, let me know in the comments or by email at nestyblog@gmail.com.
There are some great blog hops going on today! Fabulous Nest Friday is hosted by Housewife Bliss and it is fabulous!
Have a wonderful weekend!
It took us about 6 months to get out all of our thank you notes after the wedding, but we did it! And each one was personalized (ok, my husband did most of them).
ReplyDeleteWe heard back from dozens of people!
"Wow, I am so glad you sent us a thank you card! No one ever does, and I don't even like giving gifts anymore. It's like newlyweds take the presents for granted, and don't think of them as gifts."
Talking to my young married friends, most of them said "Wow, we never even sent any after our wedding."
I'm not bragging, just sharing this example of what you're talking about.
(stopping by from New Friend Friday)
just love the new posting theme, pardon the pun. An award well earned and so easy to give...glad you enjoyed it and that I could be your first.
ReplyDeleteFollowing you too :)
ReplyDeleteXo
Just getting back to re-post my comment (grrr...blogger)
ReplyDeleteI love that you are bringing the importance of manners into the light. And thank-you notes especially. I tend to write quite a few, but know I could do better. My new SU catalogue came recently and I'm totally inspired by all the new stamps. Many more thank you notes in the future!
And a huge congrats on your award, Cousin! Well done! xo