Upon viewing this, I'm sure you want to ask...
"What
on earth
is that?"
I can't blame you for wondering...
Because I'd be wondering, too...
It's an odd sort of picture to be posting on a blog.
Especially on an entry about showing kids how much they are loved!
Earlier today, I was cleaning out and organizing the drawers in Tornado's bedroom, when I came across this stack. At first, I was a bit surprised and wondering what on earth these were doing in the drawer!?!! That feeling was quickly followed by a healthy round of tears and a nice thick lump in my throat, as I had the big "A-Ha!!!" moment. Have you guessed what they are yet?
These are most ~ if not all ~ of the napkins that I have written love notes on for Tornado's lunch box this year!
And I found them tucked safely away in a drawer...
Some pristinely clean...
Others rumpled and dirty...
Some shriveled up from water blots...
All with a love message from me.
Or Mr. Brownstone...Or Twister...Or a grandparent!
The notes are not difficult to write. We always keep them short and simple ~ just a brief "Have A GREAT Day!" like the one shown, or "You bring a smile to my face!" Sometimes they include an apology..."I'm sorry we had a rough morning...", or "I was a little grumpy, and I'm sorry." Sometimes they have a little sketch of something...a smiley face, an ice cream cone, a big sunshine, or roller skates. Sometimes they are a reminder..."Two more days until vacation...", or "It's Friday! Yippee!!!" Sometimes they are an encourager..."Good luck in your play tonight! I can't wait to see you!" or "You are a reading and writing machine! Good luck on your test!" Sometimes they are a thank you note..."Thanks for being such a great helper on Saturday!" Sometimes they are wistful..."I had so much fun with you this week!" or "You are growing up so fast!" Sometimes they are a witty play on the napkin...a blue napkin reads, "We are so 'blue' without you! Can't wait until 3:00!" A jack-o-lantern napkin reads..."You make me smile like this guy!" And always, always...they are an "I love you!"
Clearly, this gesture of love is working for Tornado. Apparently, it's also working for Twister. After this find, of course I had to rummage through those drawers, too! Just guess what I found... In fact, upon further digging for both kids, I found stacks and stacks of little napkins dating all the way back to preschool!!! The really funny thing is this...I am the one that cleans out the lunch boxes each day. Not once have a found a napkin inside. I just assumed that they had been tossed away at school. The notes obviously were so meaningful to them that they stashed them away at school so they could save them once home. And that is meaningful to me!
on earth
is that?"
I can't blame you for wondering...
Because I'd be wondering, too...
It's an odd sort of picture to be posting on a blog.
Especially on an entry about showing kids how much they are loved!
Earlier today, I was cleaning out and organizing the drawers in Tornado's bedroom, when I came across this stack. At first, I was a bit surprised and wondering what on earth these were doing in the drawer!?!! That feeling was quickly followed by a healthy round of tears and a nice thick lump in my throat, as I had the big "A-Ha!!!" moment. Have you guessed what they are yet?
These are most ~ if not all ~ of the napkins that I have written love notes on for Tornado's lunch box this year!And I found them tucked safely away in a drawer...
Some pristinely clean...
Others rumpled and dirty...
Some shriveled up from water blots...
All with a love message from me.
Or Mr. Brownstone...Or Twister...Or a grandparent!
The notes are not difficult to write. We always keep them short and simple ~ just a brief "Have A GREAT Day!" like the one shown, or "You bring a smile to my face!" Sometimes they include an apology..."I'm sorry we had a rough morning...", or "I was a little grumpy, and I'm sorry." Sometimes they have a little sketch of something...a smiley face, an ice cream cone, a big sunshine, or roller skates. Sometimes they are a reminder..."Two more days until vacation...", or "It's Friday! Yippee!!!" Sometimes they are an encourager..."Good luck in your play tonight! I can't wait to see you!" or "You are a reading and writing machine! Good luck on your test!" Sometimes they are a thank you note..."Thanks for being such a great helper on Saturday!" Sometimes they are wistful..."I had so much fun with you this week!" or "You are growing up so fast!" Sometimes they are a witty play on the napkin...a blue napkin reads, "We are so 'blue' without you! Can't wait until 3:00!" A jack-o-lantern napkin reads..."You make me smile like this guy!" And always, always...they are an "I love you!"
Clearly, this gesture of love is working for Tornado. Apparently, it's also working for Twister. After this find, of course I had to rummage through those drawers, too! Just guess what I found... In fact, upon further digging for both kids, I found stacks and stacks of little napkins dating all the way back to preschool!!! The really funny thing is this...I am the one that cleans out the lunch boxes each day. Not once have a found a napkin inside. I just assumed that they had been tossed away at school. The notes obviously were so meaningful to them that they stashed them away at school so they could save them once home. And that is meaningful to me!
Visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer to see more
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- "Backwards Edition" tips for shopping at CVS
- "Backwards Edition" tips for removing white spots/rings from furniture
- how we master math in the Brownstone household
- "Backwards Edition" tips for correct "tipping" etiquette in almost any situation
- how I get my kids (and Mr. Brownstone!) to try new vegetables and love them
- how we make traveling with kids easier
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11 comments:
precious!
Okay... I got a little teary eyed reading this! So sweet!
This is just soooooo great!! Thanks for sharing it! I wrote notes for my kids lunches all the time. They are grown now, I send text messages!! I really does mean a lot to them & this just proves that point.
I recently went to California to visit my 24 yr old daughter who has lived there 6 months. On her fridge was EVERY card, clipping & note I have sent her. They never outgrow it!
Wow, what a gift. Gifts, actually. That you make the time every day to write those notes and that your kids are saving them. This touched me; thanks for sharing!
What a great testament of love. You are obviously speaking Tornado's love language. Way to go!
I am really loving your place here! I too am a teacher-Kindergarten. My best friend's husband is a teacher and he is also a video game player. I believe he plays something online and puts it up on the tv and plays with lots of other people. He also has a headset and talkts to them-lol. He also plays XBOX too.
I love the post about the napkins. I have had a few that always get a message in their lunchbox. I wonder if it is "cheating" if I suggest to them to save these messages in a safe place at home for memories later?
I see you like to play games and memes. I just started two new memes (Scrumptious Sunday & Hump Day Humor) at Mercedes Rocks. I would really love to have you play sometime. I am working on building up my participants. Check it out here: http://mercedesrocks.wordpress.com
My mom used to do that for me and (almost) 30 years later I still remember some of the notes. What a great tradition. My kiddos don't start "full day" school until next year...can't wait to do the same for them!
Girl - you just passed that lump in your throat over to mine. (gulp)
That was SO precious. One of the many rewards of being a mother, isn't it?
Now I know I said I don't do homemade lunches - but you have really inspired me... :)
I'm all teary-eyed! What a great idea. I will DEFINITELY start doing this one with my kids! It's hard to find ways to make them feel special when there's so many of them (we often get caught up in just making it through the day). Thank-you for this!
That's so great!
hi there mrs. brownstone!
a friend sent me a link to your blog and this is my FAVORITE entry! i can't wait to put notes in our daughter's lunchbox someday soon. thanks for the great post!
sincerely,
hanna
aworldinvented.etsy.com
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