Are Thank You notes dead?

I don't consider myself old-fashioned. I feel like I'm pretty trendy and try and keep up with the latest style, etc. But the one thing I have noticed in my generation is that handwritten thank you notes are obsolete.  The only people I get thank you notes from are from my mother and mother-in-law. My mom will snail mail one to me in what seems like a New York minute. My mother in law will send me a thank you for a thank you. My mom always forced me to write thank you notes as a kid. It was brutal. And it wasn't one of those generic one-size-fits-all thank you notes; it was detailed.
When I went to college, I kind of let this habit stay at home. It wasn't until I had spent a fabulous weekend at my then boyfriend's parents' house in Rancho Santa Fe. It was breathtaking. The home, the accommodations, the company, and the food.  I left and went on my way. Then a couple of weeks went by, and my said boyfriend told me that his mom had asked why I hadn't written a thank you note.

I felt as though the wind had been knocked out of my body. I had spent the entire time trying to impress them, but I fell horribly short when I simply forgot to thank them. She was right to be upset!   I figured that it was better late then never and I sent her a much-belated note of gratitude.   Lesson learned.  Now I understand her dissatisfaction with my lack of appreciation.  If my boys ever bring home a girl, they had better thank me... but really, will they ever find anyone good enough for them in my eyes? Doubtful.
So the other lesson I have learned is handwritten thank you notes are a great way to show that you appreciate whatever it was that the person gave to you, said to you, or just to say thanks for friendship.
In my jewelry box, I have one of the best thank you notes from my late grandpa. Its on a piece of paper the size of a sticky note, and in shaky cursive writing it says
"Happy Birthday, your grandma always loved making you cakes. Thank you."
I don't know if it was a birthday note or a thank you note, but I'm glad he wrote it.
My point is that yes, you can send a quick text or post it on their wall, but when its all said and done, being able to hold something is so much better than it being lost in spam.

I have now continued the thank you note writing with my boys. They think it's agonizing, but if they grow up to be gentlemen, then I did my job.
Just as I am wrapping up this post, a family friend who we invited to Jack's 3rd birthday party overheard me say that I couldn't find Jack the one Yo Gabba Gabba character he wanted, Muno (he is very popular). I had searched for months, online, every store I could think of, with no luck.  She said she happened to be in Big Lots and found Muno; she bought it for Jack and made a special visit to deliver his Muno.
Off I go to write a thank you note.....