Say Yes and The Kid Takes the Camera

When I am at work, with nothing to do, I have taken to drawing little sketches in my tiny, handmade Borgia Books, (to be sold in my shop soon,) little sayings, little memos to myself. All of them contain messages that I think I need to hear in that moment.

This is one of my favorite mantras. "Say Yes to Life." I've painted it or said it or written it or sometimes simply thought it over and over again. This is coming from a woman who has a tendency to say 'no', to believe she can't do whatever it is that comes before her.

So this saying is for me. It's what I need to hear on a daily basis.

Of course, there are some people who need to learn how to say no, who give too much of themselves without being renewed. Women who may negate their own needs for the needs of others. This isn't really my problem.

Me. I need to say yes more often. To myself, and sometimes, often to my kids. I say no to them an awful lot. No. Don't do that. Stop that. Quit it. That's not safe. That's not what we do. Negatory. Zip.

I recently thought that it might be quite an exercise to say YES to everything your children ask of you, if only for just one day (because I do believe kids need boundaries). I think, for a treat, a day of yes might be delightful for the kids, and an adventure for the grownups. In fact, maybe, it might be something of a lesson for the adult. Maybe we might learn that we don't have to cling so tightly to those rules that we hold so dear, that cake for dinner once in a while won't hurt any one, that leaving those dishes to be done later could make for some wonderful family time, that playing in mud might be a sensual experience to savor, that reading 15 books at bedtime might just be something that everyone remembers for a really long time.

I don't even know what my kids would want to do on a day where I said only yes. I've never tried it.

But I did say yes when my three year old asked to use my camera.

So here is what Ivy saw.
"I took a picture of my shoe!"

"Here's a flower mama!" (yes I am in my pajamas)
The willow tree where we took some twigs to make wreaths for our very special project. (I'll show you that later.)
Herself.