That's a scary thought. I'll ask another question: What if your spouse only does today what you thanked him or her for doing yesterday?
Imagine a list of things that people do for us regularly. Make dinner, wash clothes, clean the house, cut the grass, make our coffee, serve us at a restaurant, pump our gas... the list is endless. What if, one-by-one, when we began expecting those things and forgetting to thank the people doing them, they marked that thing off of their list. Never to be done again.
- No "thank you" for dinner tonight? No dinner tomorrow.
- No "thank you" for taking out the garbage last week? No taking out the garbage this week.
- No "thank you" for clean clothes? You better learn to use the washing machine.
I realize that this is a bit extreme, but it highlights our lack of appreciation for the every day things that people do for us. People appreciate sincere words more than you know! So say, "Thank you."
And mean it.