As we were enjoying our vacation this weekend, I had this overwhelming thought that I wanted to start saying YES to everything. I don’t really know how to explain this but I am going to try.
I was looking at my kids and thinking about how they are already halfway (if not more) to leaving our house. They are certainly not little anymore. They are growing up and our time with them is getting more and more precious. And I love them to bits and I have really really good kids. So I just want to say yes to everything they want. Can I have another cookie? Yes. Can I stay up a bit longer tonight? Yes. Would you get this for me? Yes. Can we go to this place? Yes.
Yes. yes. yes.
I know that sounds crazy. But I am not saying I will say yes to the 400th cookie or that they can stay up all night. My kids are pretty reasonable but every now and then they want the extra cookie. And I just want to say yes. (until it’s a no, which is next week’s discussion.) If I can say yes, if it’s something I can do, I want to do it. I want to support them and make their childhood magical. Not just with cookies, late nights, and things to buy. I know those are superficial and don’t set the right values. But I want to do all of it. All the other things like experiences, time spent working together, time spending playing together, going on adventures, trying new things, whatever it is, if I can say yes, I want to say yes. Yes to life together. Yes to making it magical for you. Yes to us.
This isn’t just for my kids either, I want to do this for my husband, too. These are the people I share my day to day life with and it’s so easy for me to slip into taking them for granted or for us to get lost in the grind of life or it’s easy for me to just default to no. But honestly, it’s just a reflex. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about why not.
I know this might not make sense to most people. Maybe you think I will spoil my children but I know my kids and I am not afraid of that. I want them to have a million memories of love with me and saying yes is a big part of that. Especially considering my default, it will also be the first step for me to be braver, more magical, more adventurous.
Here’s to saying YES more.
On My Mind is a year-long project for 2018. You can read more about my projects for 2018 here.
I can absolutely, totally relate…I think you are on to something and as a parent, I find it nice to know, that you are intentionally and consciously thinking about this. Say Yes!