Tuesday, May 18, 2021

The Graduation Card That Never Made It

Have you ever sent a gift to someone and had no idea if they ever received it?  It seems to happen to me a lot,  and it's really getting annoying.  One reason is Thank You cards have appeared to go out-of-style.  I RARELY receive a Thank You card for gifts anymore.  In my day, it was quite the faux pas if you did not send Thank You cards.  I guess that shows my age.  Not sending Thank You cards shows a lack of gratitude or appreciation.  But what really bothers me, is I have no idea if the person even received my gift when they don't send a Thank You card other than checking my checkbook balance.  But if I buy them a gift, then I cannot even do that.

And such is the story of this card.  We received a graduation announcement at a very odd time of the year, it was not spring, so we thought either the graduate was behind on sending out their announcements, or he graduated in the winter.  Nevertheless, I made a handmade card and sent a check, and you guessed it, nada.  Now here's the really interesting part of the story, the check was never cashed.  And it's been a long time, almost a year now.  At first we thought, "Well, maybe the boy is away at college and the card was sent to his home and he hasn't received it yet, but when he goes home on break, he will cash it".  Well, months went by and that didn't happen.  So then we thought "Well maybe his mail sat for so long it got buried under all the junk in his room," or "Maybe the card got lost in the mail".  By now, so many months have passed we feel stupid to call and ask "Did you ever get our card?"  But then I also feel bad if the recipient thinks I never sent him anything for his graduation.  And worse, if the card did get lost in the mail, the last thing I want to do right now is make a whole new card and write another check.  Checks are expensive and I do not have the time to make another card.  I know. I'm lazy, and probably wrong.  I feel guilty.  I should probably just contact the mother via FB and ask her if her son ever got the card.  But now I feel so much time went by it would just be awkward.  What would you do?

Anyway, here is the long forgotten, never received, lost card:


The recipient is a boy, so I created a card using dark colors and masculine images.  I used designer paper for the background, then stamped the sentiment and image onto card stock and cut them out using my Spellbinder's Nestabilities.  Brads were used to hold the sentiment in place.


Edited to add an update:  Since everyone advised me to contact the mother even though it's been such a long time, I finally did.  She said "If I never received a Thank You card then her son never got the card, but she will check his room" 😀". This family was always so good about sending Thank You cards in the past, so I'm 100% certain the card got lost in the mail.  

 Have A Great Day!  Amy

12 comments:

  1. You could mention to the mother that he never cashed your check and then she could find out. I would like to know.
    I know what you mean about thank you cards, we have given people money as wedding gifts and never received a word back. It is quite rude, in my opinion.

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    1. I should probably do that. I'm just lazy I guess, and like I said, if he never received the card, I really don't want to make another one or write another check, but I suppose it's the responsible thing to do. By Thank you cards, I mean when you give a person a gift or money for a wedding or graduation, and they never send you a Thank you card, an email, nothing. Yes, it's very rude, but I think that is the trend today because we have gone to so many weddings/showers etc. and gave large amounts of $ and rarely hear anything back. I just don't understand it.

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  2. It's a beautiful card and love the gray and white color combo! I feel like this past year mail just got more lost or delayed as usual, I wonder if that is the case...It could also be that he received it and put it away thinking of taking it to the bank once things are more normal again (I've done that with a commission check I received last spring, then by the time I took it to the bank it had expired.) I'd definitely ask the mother if he ever received it.

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    1. Thanks Ellie! That's a good point about Covid causing mail delays.

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  3. We feel that thank you notes get forgotten all the time. But I would definitely reach out especially since the check wasn't cashed. We all get busy, and a quick note asking shouldn't be embarrassing at all.
    XOOX
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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    1. That seems to be what I am hearing; thank you cards are a thing of the past. Thanks for the advice.

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  4. I like the card and I know you wonder did he get it. I absolutely hate giving gifts to others for birthdays, weddings, and graduations and such, especially cash and checks, and then not receiving a thank you. These days with social media and text messages, I think it would be rare to actually get a thank you card in the mail, people just don't do that anymore but they could definitely say thanks. Same thing for funeral flowers, no one sends thank you cards! We did receive a rare thank you card recently from our son-in-law's mother after the passing of his dad but she is old school (in her 80s) so this is what she knows is the proper thing to do. We sent flowers to our son-in-law too, did he say thanks? No! We have a nephew that I stopped sending cash to for Christmas. I say I because hubby would still send it if it were up to him. After years of not even acknowledging that the gift arrived, I had enough. I wonder if he notices he doesn't get a gift every year. And what gets me about all these cash gifts and checks is that it isn't cheap. At least a $100 and usually more. Thanks so much for linking up with me at the Unlimited Link Party 26. Pinned!

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    1. Thanks Dee. Yes, from all the comments I think everyone has noticed Thank You cards are a thing of the past. I raised my kids to always send a Thank You card if they received a gift, and if "snail mail" is out, an email or text is the very least one can do to show gratitude and appreciation.

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  5. Yes, it does show our age Amy. Manners were different back then and "thank you" in writing nowadays is almost gone. The times they are achanging. I do think people appreciate the gifts but communication is lacking.

    ❤️carmen

    https://fashionableover50.wordpress.com


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  6. It is a really beautiful card, Amy! I have the same frustrations when we mail gifts to people. I don't even expect a thank you card, but at least some sort of acknowledgement of receipt even if it is just a quick text. I know a lot of our polite traditions have fallen off with the explosion of technology. But one would think that technology makes it even easier to thank someone. I mean how easy is it to text 8 letters and a space?! I am glad that you reached out to the mom and realized that it was a matter of lost mail rather than bad manners.

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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    1. Yes, it is so easy with the technology today, yet most people still don't say "thank you.' It's sad. Thanks so much Shelbee.

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