The Cutest Post-It

Take a look at this unrefusable request (and I made a new word!):

"4 Logan Play game with mommy Ticket"

Love it.  Here is how this aspired.  As a motivator --for my boys, in their spelling work they can receive stars.  Reason it started is twofold, first to deflect the whine that often came along with it, but also to encourage the stopping of slopping on their paper.  Once I looked at a paper and said…”kind of looks like a chicken ran over your paper…what happened?”  So, stars.  Yes.  Stars make it exciting!  Stars make it all worth the pain.  Cause once they collect enough they can turn it in for a fun drink at the coffee shop…or if the collect double enough they can turn it in for a (small) lego set.  And this was grand.
Until…
One evening during bed time Logy wanted to spend time with me, late… too late.  Told him he needed to head to bed.  Sad eyes.  Oh, such sad eyes.  Heart melting.  OK, grab post-it.  I write a “time with mommy,” ticket.  And explained the concept.  Next morning he turns in ticket, the other two boys spy us playing a goofy game on the computer.  They discovered the secret.  And what a novel idea…they were thinking...I come to find later as they ask if they may start trading in their stars for these novel “time with mom,” tickets.  So sweet.  And really, how can you say no to that.  You can’t.
This little story magnifies something that has been on my heart often lately.  They need my time, my one on one undistracted --attention.  Need it.  It’s so important, and there are so many things competing for our time.  Really, too many.  And it can be so easy to skip the most important things--quality time--cause this is not screaming in our face “NEED TO BE DONE!”  nope.  It just quietly gets ignored.  Pushed off.  Oh, I can do that later.  After dishes. . . Laundry. . .Dinner.  And on, and on, and on.  And quality time can silently. . .cease to exist.