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affirmation
October 2008 
go ahead, say "yes"
Posted on Mar 14th, 2008
by 
Amanda
Amanda
As a mother of pre-schoolers I am constantly finding myself looking for new ways to say "no." Distraction works well, although at 4 1/2, my son is pretty wise to that trick. As this long, cold, snow-bound winter has dragged on it has been increasingly difficult to keep a happy-"Hey! Look at this!"-voice. So when this morning dawned with no sun and piles of blowing snow I made the decision to just say yes. Yes to myself. Yes to the kids. Yes to the snow, the cold, the never-ending winter, and to whatever surprises may be creeping around the corner. Gavyn's questions came earlier than I expected-- he wasn't even fully awake yet. "Is it a school day?" Yes" "Even with all the snow?" "Yes." "Can I stay home and play in the snow instead of go to school?" .....Deep breath......."Yes." It's oddly free-ing, this one little word. Cookies before lunch? Why not! Skip work? Turns out everyone else stayed home, too. Gavyn wants to wear a blanket, kilt style, instead of pants? Sure! Is it ok to mix up the paint colors? We can always make more! Soy sauce instead of ketchup on your hotdog? Ummmm.......ok!
I spend so much of my day trying to take control of something. Anything. To create a little sense of self in all this chaos that is my little world. Today, instead of trying to collect and recognize and organize I just let go. I said yes. And it's been one of the happiest days I've had in a long time.
I spend so much of my day trying to take control of something. Anything. To create a little sense of self in all this chaos that is my little world. Today, instead of trying to collect and recognize and organize I just let go. I said yes. And it's been one of the happiest days I've had in a long time.
Access: PublicTagged with: family life, snow, yes, creative writing, life with kids, motherhood, preschooler, toddler, affirmation
yes, yes, yes, let's save the no's for when they really matter. i absolutely love this story. thank you for sharing it and reminding me to lighten up!
peace and happiness to you,
shirley
And to you! Unfortunately, now my son wants to stay home from school everyday! So now it's “Yes, you can stay home after you've gone to school all day!” lol! Thank goodness he thinks I'm funny……
I love it! :) I think you might have a children's book here Amanda - A Day of Yes or The Yes Day or some infinitely more creative title. You have inspired me, and I think I might try a day of only yes. Thank you! :-)
What a great idea! If only I could get the baby to say “yes” to more sleep so I could have the brain power to write a coherent sentence! Have fun with your own “yes” day, Michael. But be careful, this afternoon I allowed myself to say yes to too many Peeps ;-)Thank you for stopping by,Amanda.
Pure genius!
Thank you John! Genius? I don't know, but it was fun. Michael– Thank you again for your thoughts. They have sprouted into something big and I've been working on it all morning. I plan on making the time to work on it every morning! When it's done, you get the first copy!Much love and gratitude,Amanda.
Awesome! Send me the link to the on-line order form when you're finished writing. Yeah - maybe Genius is stretching it, but I would definitely say this was an inspired approach to your day!
Wow! I cannot wait to read it, Amanda! I sense your enthusiasm and am certain your work will be inspired. :-)
I am waaaaaaaaaaay behind on reading my favorite blogs. I realized last night, the first night I haven't had a ton of work to bury me, that I haven't said yes to a movie or a word game with my husband in over a month. What the heck? But what I was starting to say was that if I'd read this back when you wrote it, I'd have been jumping up and down with the joy of seeing your yeses! I love it. And I do hope you are working on a book. My 2 year old Kylin isn't quite to the place of asking for this or that - it's coming, I know - but my inner 4 year old was aching to have me read just this entry. It's been a long month of no's dotted with yeses to things that eventually lead back to no's. More YES! More YES!
I love you, Halal! When was the last time I actually jumped up and down? I guess that's the next thing I need to work on! Say “yes” to more jumping! ;-)
But now I have to say “yes” to more work or else I won't be saying “yes” to groceries this week! :-D