The Case for Sending Thanks Even When It Is Late
Launch library · evergreen read
Delayed gratitude often gets abandoned entirely out of quiet embarrassment, based on the mistaken assumption that too much time has already passed for a thank you to still genuinely matter to the person involved in the original moment. In most cases, upon closer reflection, that particular assumption turns out to be simply and completely wrong.
A late thank you can actually carry unexpected weight of its own, proving clearly that an act of kindness stayed with the writer long enough to eventually be put into proper words, rather than being quietly and immediately forgotten the moment it originally happened all those months or even years ago.
Sending a letter late is almost always considerably better than never sending it at all, in the final analysis. Acknowledging the delay briefly and honestly at the start of the letter, then moving straight into genuine thanks, tends to read as honest and thoughtful rather than as awkward or forced.