Small Creative Ways to Make Family Members Smile

Dear Working Mom,

I’m getting a little nostalgic today about some very small memories from my own childhood. Really small things, that for some reason I still remember in vivid detail.

I remember a vinyl “Little Mermaid” lunchbox that I loved when I was little. And I remember a really small pocket on the side of it, with a tiny red zipper. My mom used to write little notes on a napkin or post-it for me, and stick them in that tiny pocket with its tiny red zipper.

I remember my dad drew smiley faces on the mirror in the bathroom, and I would only be able to see them after the bathroom had fogged up from a bath or shower.

I remember my uncle singing along dramatically to a favorite Beyoncé song to make my cousins and me laugh so hard we cried… how my aunt used to walk bow-legged and pretend to spit whenever we saw cowboy hat together.

As a parent myself now, I look back on these memories and there’s a new layer of understanding and appreciation for them. They’re such small things, and most of the time didn’t take more than 5 minutes… but they broke the normal routine in a wonderful way, “just because”.

I don’t know about you, Dear Working Mom… but in the cadence of my day-to-day life, sometimes I let hours or even days pass without pausing to be silly or sweet to my dearest of dear ones “just because”. And some of my warmest childhood memories were “just because”. But it’s so easy to slide into a headspace where I’m focused on the contents of The To-Do List, or when we need to leave the house to be On Time, or How Long Its Been Since My Husband Washed That Handwash Item That We Both Use.

I don’t want to let the “just because” things slide away, in all this tumult of schedules and responsibilities.

And so, in the spirit of “just because”, here are some really easy things we do around our house to remind each other of our love. I reminding myself, since we had a tough weekend and the timing is good for a “just because” moment in my house. And I’m sharing with you too, in case today is a good day for you to try a new “just because” idea:

• use a whiteboard marker to doodle on the bathroom mirror. Sometimes a simple “I love you”, sometimes a rather-poorly-drawn kitten holding a heart in its mouth, sometimes a favorite quote from Rumi. And, because I don’t always live in “just because” land, this same technique also comes in handy at times to communicate important reminders :D
• use a post-it to write something silly (“I’m nuts about you” with a bad drawing of a squirrel usually gets a laugh), and stick it in an unexpected spot they’ll find pretty soon… on top of their workout gear, or on the surface of their phone, or over the keyboard of their laptop.
• leave Hershey’s kisses on the bedside table of your partner or kiddo when they’re sleeping (this one is my husband’s brilliant invention, and I love it so)
• give “sandwich hugs”: this one takes 3 people. Usually our little one is the filling, and my husband and I each pretend to be a slice of bread. Add squeezes for emphasis.
• next time you get a favorite treat for partner or kiddo from a store, grab 3 post-its and make a very small treasure hunt. 1st post-it goes in a very obvious spot, and directs to the 2nd post-it, which directs to the 3rd post-it, which directs to the spot the treasure is hidden. Bonus points if you’re able to doodle any pirate art on the notes.

The interesting thing, Dear Working Mom, is that these small “just because” things are always a little lift for me too. Not just my loved one.

Particularly when I realize I’ve been away from “just because” land for a little too long, small things like this can work magic.

Whether you’re on the giving end or the receiving end, Dear Working Mom, I hope a post-it note treasure hunt is on the horizon for you.

All my best,

Wendy