I made the Children cocoa as they wrapped the presents. When they' d tied the last bow， they looked up expectantly. "How long did this all take？" I asked Drew.
Glancing at his notes， he said， "It took us 28 minutes to get to town and 15 minutes to buy the presents. Then it was 38 minutes to get home， because we had to buy gas."
"And how long did it take us to wrap the boxes？" Eleanor asked.
"Each of you did one present in two minutes， " Drew said.
"And how many minutes will it take to mail these presents？" I asked.
"Fifty-six minutes， round trip， " Drew figured. "If we don' t need gas."
"But you forgot standing-in-line time. " said Sarah.
"Okay， " Drew said. "We need to add about 15 minutes for mailing."
"So， what' s the total time we' d spend to give someone a present？"
Drew did the arithmetic. "Two hours and 34 minutes."
I laid a piece of stationery， an envelope and a pen beside each child' s cocoa cup. "Now please write a thank-you note. Be sure to mention the present by name and tell what fun you' ll have using it."
Silence reigned as the children gathered their thoughts； soft pen scrathes followed. "Done. " said Eleanor， pressing her envelope closed.
"Me too. " echoed Sarah.
"That took us three minutes. " Drew said， sealing his letter.
"Is three minutes too much to ask to thank someone for a thoughtful gift that may have taken two and a half hours to choose and send to you？" I asked.
The children looked down at the table and shook their heads.
"It' s a good idea to get in the habit now. In time you' ll want to write thank-you notes for many things."
Drew groaned. "Like what？"
"Like dinners or lunches. Or weekends at someone' s home or the time someone takes to give you advice on college applications or careers."