It’s only two words. They are so short and simple, don’t cost anything, and yet they have the ability to impact greatly. It only takes a second or two to say them, but do we? Oh, sometimes we do. Everybody does, don’t they? When it is big at least. But what about in small matters?

I’ve been thinking about these two little words lately and remembering a time they meant a great deal to someone.

It was many years ago, and I was working as a volunteer “nanny” to a family in need. They were going through a very difficult time as the mom had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and was only given a few months to live (side note, she’s still living!) and they had six girls and a few-month- old baby boy. As you probably could guess, the house was filled with a lot of stress at that time. All the girls were worried about their mom (except for the youngest one who really didn’t understand things yet), and life was hard.

It was evening and supper had been eaten. Most of the girls had hurried through any after supper chores they had and were playing outside. Only the oldest girl was left. I finished straightening the chairs in the dining room and then stepped into the kitchen. I saw her there at the sink and walked over. Putting an arm about her shoulders, I gave her a hug and said, ” Thank you for washing the dishes.”

That was it. Just a simple sentence.

Her eyes filled with tears, and she looked at me and whispered, “No one has ever thanked me for washing the dishes before.”

That sentence has burned itself into my memory. How often do we forget to use those two little words for the everyday chores that others do around us? When was the last time you thanked someone for washing your dishes? Or doing your laundry? Have you thanked someone for putting clean water in the dog’s bowl? Or for reading the story you just wrote?

Don’t let the day go by without telling someone “Thank you” for doing an ordinary task. It means a lot. And you never know if that person has ever been thanked for doing it.

Have you ever been thanked for washing the dishes in your own home? Have you thanked someone else? Will you use those two little words today?