I leave a lot of notes. Sticky notes, lengthy notes, text notes. It’s a main ingredient of my mothering - sticking myself wherever I can into someone’s world.
Maybe it’s an actual developed technique for attention living in a house of boys who early on were inflicted with the man disease of selective hearing.
Imagine the joy of a 16 year old boy, home alone. Maybe for an entire day or evening! But then. The note/s.
“There’s still a hamburger left in the fridge!” Add on note: “FLOSS AFTER!”
“Be upstairs or you won’t hear the doorbell ring when the plumber comes!!”
They pop up like mushrooms after a rain. I can’t stop myself. It’s a control freak on steroids. My son calls it “passive aggressive.”
I take a sticky note and position it in the middle of the kitchen island. But wait, maybe he won’t see it here…Move it to eye level on a cupboard. But wait, he might not go to that cupboard. The urgency and anxiety of finding the perfect spot becomes all consuming.
A note becomes too long for the yellow inch square common sticky note size. I have to “….” And continue on a second sticky note.
#1….
#2….
#3….get labelled.
Sometimes I just pull a wood chair into the hallway - impeding entrance to the kitchen, and line it with my notes. When there are multiple notes and when there is an important message to deliver - you have to use the “dry year for chiles” theory.
My El Paso cousins taught me that during a dry year - with no rain - chiles grow very hot. During a wet year - they are milder. So chiles packagers hold off some of the very hot dry chiles and mix them in with the wet year - milder - chiles to sort of even out the chiles packages. This is why you may be making a pan of stuffed chiles and enjoying them thinking - Ahhh, these chiles are just perfect! Then the next one you pop into your mouth - WHAM - you are spitting it out, sweating profusely, and pouring a glass of milk.
In other words, if you have a wham note , you mix it in with the mild notes.
#1. “Happy Tuesday!! (a little smiley sun)”
#2. “Put the recycling out!! (smiley face)”
#3. “Finish that paper before you start looking endlessly at You Tube!! haha!!”
#4. (on the seat of the chair) : I found the empty beer bottles in the basement storage room behind the baby carriage. They are in the recycle bin now…you’re grounded this week-end!”
#5. “Love you! Better choices next week!!”
#6. “xoxo! See you soon! I’ll be baaaackkkk!!”
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