Yes Day!? WWWhaat?
Okay, so, you are probably asking yourself, “what is this yes day all about?” Right? O.K.,
I will tell you. A few years ago, I began “Yes Day!” because I was tired of
saying “NO” too often to things I,
too, enjoyed as a young girl (candy, ice cream, chocolate, fries, and even those
dreaded golden arches), but, as an educated mother in child development, I knew
better than to say yes as often as my son asked for these items. So, I searched
for ideas on how to make it work for all of us. Finally, one day, without intending
to find an answer, I stumbled upon the book, Yes Day! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. As I browsed books
on Amazon to teach whatever important lesson I was trying to teach at the time (in
a child friendly manner-of course), I found my answer. I browsed the “look
inside feature” and immediately placed the book in my cart. Ding! Ding! Ding! I
had an idea! The book gave me a brilliant
Idea!!! I was beaming with excitement and called my husband at work to tell him
that I had found a solution to our son’s obsession with sweets.
How Did I Execute My Idea?
I was going to read the book to him during his bedtime
routine of reading a handful of his selections, followed by “recap” (we share our
favorite part of the day). Upon “recap”, I would tell him that the following day
was going to be his official, first ever, “Yes Day!”. I know, I know. You are probably
thinking, “crazy woman, what are you doing?! What were you thinking?!” You are
right. In my excitement, I forgot to think through all the possibilities and
outcomes. I was focused on the sweets and excited to finally have a solution to a dilemma that had been plaguing our family
since “Selma Cookie” (Grandma Cookie) introduced our son to the gloriousness of
candy and ice cream. Yes, he nicknamed her “Selma Cookie”. Later, “Grandma Cookie”. Today, simply, “Grandma”.
As an aside, I love Grandma Cookie. So, if you read this post, Grandma Cookie,
I mentioned you because like most grandparents home's, your home was filled
with fun and part of the fun is sweets. I’m not judging- I completely understand
that it’s your job to be the fun home.
Are you thinking, this
is going to be a disaster, lady? A George the Menace, Curious George day,
right? Yes. You. Are. Absolutely.
Right. The first annual “Yes Day!” was filled with many requests that I just couldn’t
say yes to because of safety. For example, asking to eat candy all day long (for
every meal), jumping off a high wall because he wanted to be like Curious
George, throwing rocks into the neighbor’s pool to “listen for the splash”, staying
up as long as he wanted (this one we kept, but if you’re a parent or are around
children, often, you know that this was only a few minutes to an hour later than
his regular bedtime. Their bodies are exhausted, so, naturally, they fall
asleep as soon as there is little to no activity) and there were a few more
that at the moment I can’t recall.
Fortunately, aside for sporting equipment
and his collection of Disney Cars, he didn’t have much of an interest in toys. Hence,
there were no requests for an abundance of toys. What did make me smile is that
he asked to visit the bookstore and choose three books. Each time, we visit a bookstore,
I always let him choose at least one book. At 11, I am very happy that he still chooses
the bookstore as one of his favorite places. More on books, bookstores, and how
I nurtured his love of books in a different post. To be continued...
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