Thank you notes and things to do....

I have been thinking a little of Thank you notes. I was raised by Alice, the queen of Thank You notes. Whenever we received anything from the time we were little... we always carefully crafted a Thank You note. It was part of our routine. Our grandparents lived far away when we were little.. and so we thanked them when they called us on Christmas and then sent them a letter or a card too. It was a wonderful part of my upbringing and a habit that I cannot shake. My brothers got it too... Sometimes we joke that we thank each other for our thank you notes. Stef already had started some Thank you's when we met her in Boise to pick up a car. So this week I delivered the Thank You's she had done...

I love Thank you notes and old fashioned letters... and checks. There are many bills I pay on line. But there is something about still writing a check and sending it through the mail, or going to the mail box and finding a little something there. (not bills or solicitations but real live mail).

So many things are now online and through email. It is so impersonal... and so hard to keep up with. I don't know how people keep their emails clear of the crud... or find the time to utilize all the things sent to them in email. I have 3 emails and I just barely keep afloat of the many messages.

Which brings me to my things to do.

As you know, I always have a ginormous to do list. It seems that with the wedding I got absolutely zilcho done. I barely got our taxes filed, the FAFSA was late, kids didn't get registered for the normal things I do in a timely manner. It felt like if something was added to the to do list, the chances of actually doing it were very low. And doing it on time... well.. not going to happen.

Now that the wedding is done... I have upped my productivity slightly. Which leads me to believe that the wedding was not the problem. I am now blaming it on my age.

Things that used to take minutes take hours.... and things that used to take hours take days. But my mind still spits out ideas for things to do at a very very rapid pace. And I can't stop my mind.

If I have a day pretty nearly planned out, chances are that life will take over and I will not get anything done that I planned. I will rework my day and get the essentials done, but nothing that I had initially decided on.

In other news, Hailey Mae has decided to serve a mission. I haven't ever had this experience before and it is so exciting. The online mission paper process is pretty darn intense. It takes a while with dental and doctor appointments. I am really glad that we took care of so many of her dental issues over the past few years. That makes her almost ready to go. Hailey has been speaking American Sign Language for the past few years. Will she go on a mission that utilizes this? Not sure. But it is a fun possibility. She is looking to leave in mid August. So lots and lots to do for that.

I think this decision has taken a weight off of her mind. It is a pretty good thing to put on a to do list. And a pretty good Thank You note to write to Heavenly Father.