my mom used to send notes in my lunchbox from time to time. so i decided in preschool to do the same for E. it all started with one note. i thought i would just write one every now and then, as a surprise to let him know i was thinking of him. so i wrote the first one. then the second and the third, figuring i wouldn’t write them every day starting the second week of school. so the second week, i didn’t write a note. E came home and the first thing he said was, “why didn’t you send me a note?” how can you not write a note after that?

i have a friend who teases me, saying i act like every moment needs to be a teacheable moment. it might be true. i can’t help myself. i may not have a classroom full of kiddos anymore, but i am always looking for that lesson. slowly, E’s lunchbox notes became those lessons i hoped he was carrying with him to school.

the notes are always short. and i am sure i repeat myself. amidst my have a great day’s and i love you’s, the notes say things like:

share one toy that’s hard to share today.
say hi to someone new.
give three compliments to friends at lunch.
tell your teacher he/she is doing a good job.
remember to say please and thank you all day.
help someone clean up a mess you didn’t make.
find a friend who isn’t playing and ask him/her to join your game.
ask your teacher how you can help.
listen to someone else share his/her ideas without sharing your own.

yesterday’s message was my favorite.

be kind. have courage.

these are words from one of my absolute favorite movies, the real life version of cinderella. in the movie, cinderella’s mom tells her to be kind and have courage. when i think about this line, i realize, by God’s grace, it is really all i want for my kids. to be kind and have courage.

a couple days ago, i asked E if he would like me to continue the notes for kindergarten. i expected he might say no, thinking it might not be cool to get notes from your mom every day. his exact response was, “yes. yes. everyday.”

now. don’t be fooled. some mornings before school are more like “oh no! the note! sorry E i forgot to write your note! you don’t mind, right? here’s what i would have said if i remembered to write your note…” but lots of days i remember. because though these napkin notes are supposed to be that, his napkin, every day they come back home in his lunchbox, nice and white, exactly the way i sent them. affirmation of their importance to him.

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