ALL I want is my Thank You.”
This has been verbally (and non-verbally) expressed by some of the older Titos and Titas of Cebu regarding their holiday gift-giving forays. They gripe that some of the pamangkins, et al. they have given gifts to have basically seen-zoned them in real life. No “thumbs up,” no emoji of any sort, and, most egregious, no expression of gratefulness.
I don’t want this to devolve into an “OK, Boomer” discussion. On one end of the spectrum are people that have been raised by the letter of the law and who believe in outwardly demonstrative expressions of this law (opening the door for others, looking people in the eye when giving a handshake). Under this falls the need to express your thanks, in person or through a message, when you receive a gift of any sort. On the other end of the spectrum are those who were raised to communicate through their fingertips (through the millions of messenger apps available) and who view their elders as towering dementors who criticize and judge. It’s a generation gap that’s exacerbated by the proliferation of the Interwebs and will only grow larger unless someone does something about it.
To the dementors... I mean mentors. Look, I admit our generation seems pretty out of shape compared to yours, but please be patient. Because of the world we now live in, a lot of us are afraid to say something and then be misquoted or misinterpreted. The feedback loop is a lot shorter than it was back in the day when the chismis train didn’t operate on WiFi. Under such scrutiny, we would prefer to go “no talk, no mistake” than to suffer under your blinding rage and judgment. It’s not that we’re not grateful; we sometimes process things longer and have problems expressing ourselves. If we continue to stick around you and ask for your advice, know that we appreciate your presence in our lives and would melt like a lit candle if we had to express that in real words.
To my fellow dementees... mentees. Want to save money for Christmas? Say thank you. It’s the quickest way to get people to like you. This isn’t limited to gifts. Say thank you to those who do the dirty work and are usually not seen. I promise you their faces will light up brighter than the Christmas tree we put on our IG story. Expressing ourselves starts with a thank you, and then maybe we can move on to more, ugh, important things like love (excuse me as I go barf). As much as we want our elders to understand us, let’s meet them halfway and enter their world.
As the New Year rolls around, let’s start it with a grateful heart and spirit. It’s a small New Year’s Resolution, and one that gets our momentum going. A word of thanks goes a long way, especially to Chris Jericho, who is still waiting for his AEW #ThankYou.