Just in case

For the first week of school, I drew these little hearts on the inside of our wrists. The children were excited, nervous, and anxious about starting the new school year and I told them I'd be thinking about them lots and lots. I came up with this little symbol to represent my love for them. Whenever they missed me, whenever they were scared, and just in case they needed some familiarity, they could just look at their heart and know I was thinking about them. As Logan set off to Kindergarten, I think the heart on my wrist helped me get through the day more than it helped him. So you can imagine my surprise when he asked for me to draw it again the following morning.

One day, I asked Logan if he needed to use his heart that particular day. His reply: "Yes, but I didn't think of you. I thought of dad". Motherhood: a thankless job, but a rewarding one nonetheless!

As they made friends and grew accustomed to the expectations of their new teachers and the new school year, they rarely need the heart anymore. But every now and then, they still ask for it "one more time".