Notes from Home

About 5 months ago Evie told me that sometimes at school during the day she gets sad and really misses home. She also indicated (and I was a bit dubious I must admit given she is the queen of excuses and negotiating) that this is why she is sometimes not such a good listener... she "was just too sad to listen well" In search of a solution we had a talk about what I could do to make her less sad and be a better listener at school. She thought about it for a few minutes and then came up with the idea that I could put a special note in her lunchbox every day so that "I know you still love me". I imagine there is another kid at her school who gets notes and that gave her the idea. Regardless, I thought it was a great solution so for the past five months I have been putting notes in her lunchbox (almost) every day (Yes there have been a few harried days when I forgot, and needless to say she noticed their absence...thus proving that I am indeed not a super mom). The best thing about it is that many of the notes make it back home and so now I have a fair collection of them and just reuse them from week to week. This, if she has noticed, she doesn't seem to care about because I haven't heard anything about it. She has a new teacher this semester so I lost a bunch in the first two weeks of school so I am having to replenish my supply. But the best part about it is that she came up with the solution and it really seems to help her. She has had fewer "bad listener" days and will frequently comment on how happy the little notes make her. I must admit that they make me happy too.