Noteworthy

I have always loved writing notes and now that I am a parent my notes have never been more appreciated. My girls not only love the notes I give them, they have come to expect and anticipate them. There are all sorts of occasions when notes are appropriate. Here are

1. School lunches. Perhaps this is the most obvious. I have hand written notes for my daughter everyday she had packed a lunch since she has started school. I take that back. I missed a day once. As soon as I picked her up that day she said, “Mom! You forgot a note today!” Wow.  My daughter doesn’t only love her notes, she covets them, shares them with her friends, and saves them in a bin in the bottom kitchen drawer. Here’s a tip-if you save the notes, you can recycle them and use them again. We have 4 years worth of notes in the drawer so I’ve got plenty in the archives I can use when I don’t have time (or energy) to write a new one and I don’t think she’s yet caught on.  Also, if there’s something special about the day, I usually address it in my note. A little encouragement like, “good luck on the science test” goes a long way.
2. Sleepovers. Now that my daughter is going to friends houses and girl scout camps to spend the night, I always leave a “good night, I love you” note in her toiletries bag for her to find when she is getting ready for bed. Even though I’m not there in person to tuck her in, I want her to know I’m thinking of her anyway.
3. Mom Trips. For various reasons, I have left town for the weekend. When I do, I write a note for every night I will be away. I leave them labeled with each night for them somewhere visible, like on the bulletin board so that whoever is watching them (Daddy, Grandparents or babysitter) will prompt them to open their nightly notes. It’s something they look forward to each night I’m gone. On the last night, I’ll usually add something like, “I’ll see you first thing tomorrow” to give them an idea of when I will be home.
4. School Visits. Whenever my husband and I have to visit my daughter’s school without her (conferences, etc) we write a note together and leave it in her desk for her. The next day at school when she finds it, it always makes her day.
5. Just Because. There are times when I have left notes in somewhat hidden places for my kids. Sometimes just an, “I’m proud of you” or a “I think you’re great” does a nice job of making my kids feel special for no other reason except that they are who they are.

What I like about writing the notes for my kids is that I get to be creative. I use colored pens, stickers, stamps, cardstock, recycles envelopes, or anything else that inspires me. I keep it pretty simple, albeit fun because I don’t really have all day to make a note-masterpiece but I do take a little extra time to make each little offering special.

 I know that every minute spent toward making my girls feel loved and appreciated is worth its weight in gold.