3 People for Which to Be Thankful - University of Valley Forge

3 People for Which to Be Thankful

3 People for Which to Be Thankful

As the season gets more hectic, your thankfulness is likely waning. Allow me to help get you back in the spirit. There are many people constantly serving you, often from the shadows. This year, show them some of that famous holiday gratitude. Here are three people who deserve big thank-yous, and some easy ways to say it:

1. Waiters/Waitresses
They may ask you how everything tastes when your mouth is full of food, but their job is to make you comfortable, bring you food, allow you to relax. Maybe show them a little extra gratitude this season in the form of tips that go above and beyond ten to fifteen percent.

2. Sanitation workers
It’s a dirty job, sometimes a cold or sweltering one, and they probably get yelled at a lot for making noise in the early morning. They keep our homes and neighborhoods waste-free with little recognition; they deserve more. Tape a thank-you card to the lid of your trashcan before you put it out for collection to show them how much you appreciate them.

3. Mail carriers
Even in the age of texting and email, mail carriers still bring you those ads, bills, and occasional birthday cards; in crazy weather and terrible uniforms, no less. Perhaps you could leave a little gift in your mailbox for them – be sure to clearly mark it!

Of course, I’d never recommend something I’ve never done myself. I’ve tipped 50%, given a thank-you card to the sanitation workers, and a bag of candy to the mail carrier. Not only did it brighten their days, I found myself brightening, too. Seeing the smiles of a waiter, hearing the horn of a garbage truck outside my house, and receiving a thank-you card in the mailbox the next day: those are things I’ll remember forever. Those are the things that made gratitude a constant part of my character. My life is better for my gratitude, and so are the lives of the people I thank.

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” -1 Thessalonians 5:18

Thanks for reading.

 

Written by Olivia Gordon