Notes to Self, Part 1 of ?

Remember the old Saturday Night Live bit with Norm? His anchorman character would give some piece of "news" at the end of which he would pull out a mini tape recorder (yes, it was the height of technology) and start a pithy line with "Note to self…"

There are a few times where I think it would be great to have a "note to self" before I learn just how important it is. Like when you realized that you just sighed deeply (not romantically) while your wife is telling you about something about something that matters. Of course about the time you notice your own sigh yourself, she has stopped mid-sentence, eyes narrowing, one eyebrow raising, inquisitively… Is "inquisitively" the right term? Well, I haven't had this happen, but I know people who have, and lived to tell about it… …umm… …later.

Or, how about that time you were a bit low on time getting to work, found that one tire was low on air, and then found out that the spare was flat too? Me either, but now you have your own note to self, "Check the air in the spare now and then." See, that was easy, and now you won't be late for work.

Check out my growing list and see if you can add some notes of your own?

Wife:

1. Call her sometimes from work. She thinks that you are forgetful for some reason… It also has the benefit of having a hot meal about the time you walk in the door.
   


2. Call her sometimes when not at work. Ditto of #1.
   


3. Call her sometimes when nowhere near a phone. (She will call someone else's phone until she finds someone who knows where you are otherwise…)
   


4. Hug her when you think about it. Maybe when you don't. She usually likes this, except when you haven't called from somewhere all day. Then you had better wait a little while.
   


5. Three little words: "I love you." You know this, she knows this, but she wants you to say it out loud sometimes.
   

Kids:

1. Give lots of hugs and wrestle them around a bit. The hugs are a good stress reducing activity for the Dad and the wrestling will get the kids all riled up and happy. The happiness and hyper-ness will wear them out for bed, but the biggest benefit is that Mom gets a minute to herself (albeit permeated with shrieks and wails of wrestling kiddos), which is a well-deserved stress-relief for her.
   


2. Ask them about what they did today. This will have varying degrees of response. My youngest doesn't speak very much English yet, but she understands that Daddy and I are having a talk right now. The jibberish is really quite interesting though.
   


3. Put them to bed at the same time every day. No humor here. It works. Routine is your best friend.
   


4. Pray with them and let them pray too. I think God listens extra well to the little ones, and it makes me smile when they thank God for every little thing that is visible in the room.
   

More to come… Money, Houses, Cars and Gardens! Add your thoughts and I will post the best ones later!

Cheers for now…