I saw the sweetest thing the other day when a friend shared an idea for spreading the love this February. For each day of the month (29 this time around, for those of you counting), the parent would stick a post it note on the child’s bedroom door with something sweet–a thought, something they appreciate about the child, encouragement–you know, something showing love.
It stuck with me for a few days, and while I love the idea of focusing on the positive and surprising my children with loving messages, something wasn’t sitting well with me.
And then it hit me.
The post-its.
We are no stranger to post-it notes. I have used them in our homeschooling for quite some time. They serve a great purpose and kudos to the inventor. However, I know that nothing is permanent, and I could see those things fluttering down off doors, landing on floors, long before the 29 days were up.
And then there’s my sentimental side to deal with. What do I do? Throw them away when the month is over? I mean, I will have worked for 29 days to create the perfect message times 3, and then at the end, we just toss the messages? Ummm, no, I think not. But keep sticky notes? There’s just no good way to do that, and it will contribute to the clutter I’m trying so hard to be rid of, so, hmmmm, no, not that either.
It finally hit me two days ago what the perfect solution would be.
Canvases.
At first I planned to paint 29 hearts on each canvas to fill in with the loving messages, but I was worried about spacing and what if I wanted to say more on one day than another? That could happen. Today I decided to paint each canvas a signature color for each child, put their name in the middle and surround it with loving messages each day of February. I’ll write the message, surround it with a heart, and hopefully, this will create something lovely for each of the ones I hold dear. (I mean, I wish they’d clean up a little better, empty the dishwasher without being reminded, and put away their clothes for real, but I do hold them all dear. And no, I won’t be putting any of that in my messages.)
I’m excited about the idea, and I hope it will go well. I’m not even going to put a timeframe on when I write my message. If I want to do it at night, I will. But if it doesn’t happen until the next morning, that’s okay too.
After all, those elves just left not too long ago, and that was enough stress for a whole year. I don’t need that whole “I can’t go to bed until…..” or waking up at 3 a.m. and running for a Sharpie to get it done before anyone else wakes up.
Just no.
This is about love and letting my people know how much they are loved today and everyday. Maybe this will start a new tradition, or maybe it won’t, but it in the words of my Mama, “It’s all for the fun of it.”
Wishing you all someone to tell you how much they love you each and every day!
Love to all.
Note of Apology: I was loading the photo from my phone into the WordPress App, and I hit publish accidentally. I apologize to those of you who got a confusing non-post via email. This is the corrected, edited version. Sorry about that. Best wishes to all.
I Might Need A Nap 
