MOOSIC, Pa. -- It's that time of year again when we take a moment to reflect on what we're thankful for before Thanksgiving.
However, one woman from Lackawanna County said we shouldn't just be thinking about what makes us thankful. We should be writing it down and sending hand-written thank-you notes every day!
Elena Anguita of Moosic wrote a book and started a movement called, "Spread Thanks." She encourages people to write one hand-written thank you note to a different person every day.
Some would say putting pen to paper and really expressing your gratitude towards someone else has become a dying art.
"Oh gosh, the last time I wrote a hand-written thank you note was probably two years ago," Eric Pleska of Scranton said.
"Actually, when she [my three-year-old daughter] was born, I did it to the nurses because it was a rough delivery with her," Maria Sansotta of Lake Ariel said.
"The last time? Oh probably about a month ago," John Kosinski said.
However, Elena Anguita of Moosic has been writing one thank-you note every day for the past five years! That inspired her to write her book, "Spread Thanks."
"What you do is you start to pay attention to every conversation you have that day. It could be the grocery store clerk who helps put the groceries in your car or a coworker who helps you with an invoice," Anguita said.
Anguita has even written a thank you note to someone she just had an argument with.
"My mind slowed down. I heard her side of the argument. It's like, 'hmm. Her opinion was right, as well.' So by the time I was done. It actually was a thank you note," Anguita said.
She said writing these thank you notes has strengthed her relationships and turned strangers into friends.
She's received hundreds of letters in return. Some from as far away as Ireland.
She suggests starting with one card and seeing where it takes you.
"The physical act of hand-writing is a more complex cognitive task. It uses all four quadrants of the brain. It takes a little longer, so I think that gives you enough time for your mood to change to one of gratitude," Anguita said.
In a week where many are thinking about what they're thankful for, Anguita adds this is the perfect time to start putting those thankful thoughts to paper.
"Spread Thanks" can be found on Amazon and on Anguita's website.