Comment Reply Plug-In
I have to say, I feel much better about the commenting situation now that I’ve read all of your responses. Thank you for your assurances that you did indeed know that I wasn’t simply ignoring your comments. Also, turns out I wasn’t the only one to make the wrong assumption! 
Many of you requested the name of the plug-in that I found that allows commenters to receive email notification when you reply. Here it is, my friends: Comment Reply Notification.
But don’t thank me; thank Christie, who kindly and quickly came to my rescue when I panicked and reached out to her for assistance. She rocks. 
One more heads up: for the plug-in to work, you need to reply from your site, not from your blogging dashboard.
That’s all, folks! Enjoy the plug-in! 
Updated to Add: This plug-in is specifically for people running WordPress on their own site/server. I cannot speak for wordpress.com sites, blogger sites, etc. You can find information about installing a WordPress plug-in here.
Themocracy
I’m reaaaaly dim – but how do you get to the plug-in? Like is it already in the dashboard somewhere or..? I’m not tech-savvy
I just updated my post to indicate that the plug-in is only for those who run WordPress on their own server. I’m not sure if wordpress.com can do plug-ins or not…
i may just have to switch to wordpress.. damn blogger lol
Thanks for sharing this! I have been looking for a plugin like this for my site.
I have often left comments to comments on my blog, but most people have not come back to check the comments. This plug-in sounds like a good thing. I’ll have to add it soon. Thanks to you and Christie for sharing.
Thank you so much for this info!! I also made a similar realization a few days ago and was so bummed. I’ll definitely be downloading this! So thank you (and thanks to Christie!!)!
I have often left comments to comments on my blog, but most people have not come back to check the comments. This plug-in sounds like a good thing. I’ll have to add it soon. Thanks to you and Christie for sharing.
[...] to some poking around this weekend and Katie’s help, I figured out a way to reply to your comments so the reply shows on the blog and you get an email [...]