I say “thank you.” Sometimes, for the neighbors who feed the cat while we’re away, that includes chocolates or some other present.
In a larger sense, “gratitude” is the sense that you owe everyone a measure of good will and respect. — a low-key awareness of both is what makes any society work. Humans are social creatures. Most of us could not function if it were not for the efforts, seen and unseen, of other humans around us.
Pam Troy 