The Sticky Note Reminder

I inadvertently made a huge mistake as a parent last night.  I was quickly forgiven, but not before crocodile tears welled up in Ellie's eyes and spilled down her cheeks, and she mumbled, "Well, I just thought it was really important to you."

On a daily basis, the kids bring home work completed in school.  Some of these items are big, important assignments - tests, quizzes, projects, or works of art, but others are simply collaborative assignments or assessments done in class.  Typically, both Pete and I go over their work with them, praising their effort, correcting incorrect answers, and discussing their problem solving techniques.  Usually, I ask them if there is anything they would like to keep or like me to keep and post on the fridge (it is covered in artwork and aced spelling tests), but the kids are good about letting us recycle most of the old assignments.

Two days ago, Ellie tossed a folded sticky note onto my lap, and said, "This is from my teacher."  Upon opening it, I found a note from her reading teacher with Ellie's words read per minute score written down - it was a "Hot Read" score, meaning she had practiced it several times prior to this particular timing.  Ellie was especially proud of her score because reading does not come easily to her, and apparently, it was 4th grade best.  I promptly secured the sticky note to the fridge with a magnet and made the proper big deal out of the accomplishment.

Last night, as she was getting ready for bed, I went through her binder to double check she had completed all the necessary homework to be prepared for today, and I found another sticky note with a "Cold Read" score, showing the words read per minute reading a passage for the first time.  Obviously, this score was lower, but again, it must have been one of the higher cold read scores for the year.  I told her good job and then made a major blunder - I crumpled up the sticky note and threw it away. Cue tears, a sad little comment, "Well, I just thought it was really important to you, so I asked my teacher write it down so I could give it to you," and sick, crippling guilt felt by Mom.

What I didn't realize was just how important this was to her - and not just important to her because she was proud of the accomplishment - but it was important to her because she knew it was important to me.  Understand my gut-wrenching guilt now?

THE sticky notes

By the time she went to bed, I knew I had been forgiven, but at breakfast, I knew my action had not been forgotten as I saw her eyes glance at the fridge to make sure there were TWO sticky notes stuck to the door. 

My parenting faux pas was a good reminder that everyone, young and old, likes to feel important, appreciated, or like he or she is doing a good job.  In a world that sometimes seems inundated with negativity, wouldn't it be refreshing to celebrate the positive, even the little things, instead of letting them slide right by?  I challenge you to do just that; I plan to leave these sticky notes on my fridge as my reminder to do the same.