Modern Mama

My main love language has always been words of affirmation. More than gifts, acts of service, and touch, words good or bad have always sunk deep. Even as a kid I vividly remember my Mom writing me notes that I don’t think she even knows how much I cherished (literally most of these notes are stashed in a tote with the few items I kept from childhood) so after having our little one I really wanted to find ways to incorporate this type of love not only as a Mom but also as a Wife.

For Baby Girl I was gifted so many different types of ways to write notes and messages for her as she grows bigger as part of our Baby Shower and holidays, but it suddenly struck me that I didn’t have a great way besides the occasional long drawn out love note that I love to put together for Anniversaries or Birthdays to really showcase those same feelings and appreciations for my husband. I also know that long love notes really didn’t mean as much to my husband as it did to me so I really needed a new approach so he would feel how much I love and appreciate him but was also sustainable and could be done quickly during naps and the few moments in a day that I actually have to myself since becoming a parent so it didn’t just fizzle out with time.

Luckily one thing I did happen to have laying around the house was a huge stack of yellow and pink sticky notes that I have been toting around since college that I don’t think I ever used. So an idea was born. Gratitude notes. Quick simple messages that I could surprise my husband with on the bathroom mirror or strategically placed in the kitchen for him to find that expressed all the reasons why I love and appreciated him that week. The notes cover everything from appreciating the father he is to our Baby Girl, telling him how good he looked that day, acknowledging how he always seems to turn my bad days around by getting me a glass of wine and letting me vent, or how much it meant when he made dinner and did the dishes after a hard day. The best part is that I really like writing the notes and love the suspense of hiding them in places for him to find and seeing his reaction. It’s like a mini Christmas every week without the stress.

What I didn’t expect was that after a few weeks of writing these Gratitude Notes was that he started to reciprocate. I started to wake up and find my own notes thoughtfully placed on my mirror. What a way to start a day! While that was never expected or the point of doing them I have to admit that this has made me feel so loved and I still have the notes on my mirror and in my office to this day since they make me smile. A gesture so small and easy but what a difference so if you are looking for ways to let your Partner or really anyone in your life know that you love them and are thinking of them I would really recommend Gratitude Notes. Make them your own. Use sticky notes or fun colored paper. Make them long or short. Make them silly or serious. It’s your note so have fun with it!

If you do end up doing some Gratitude Notes I would love to know what you did and what you are grateful to your Partner for. Also if you found this helpful and would love more updates about what we are trying out on Modern Mama please subscribe to stay up to date on all of our date, travel, parenting, and self-care recommendations. Hope to hear from you soon!