Why We Need a “Yes!” Day

It’s only 7:30 PM, and I’m falling asleep.  My oldest daughter climbs up beside me on the bed and says, “Mom, you really need a Yes! day.  That’s what you need!  Remember the Yes! day?”

Oh, I remember.

A few years ago, I felt like every word out of my mouth was, “No.”  I’d scream that word about everything.  No she couldn’t eat this, touch that, go there.  No she couldn’t stay up late, sleep out in a tent, climb that tree, bake that thing, or visit that place.

I saw her little shoulders slump down further and further with every “No!”

So one day, I told her I was changing my ways.  We were going to try out a Yes! day.  For one entire day, I would say Yes! to every single thing she asked.   

It was a very long and very strange day.

It involved brownies for breakfast, glitter, playgrounds, visiting neighborhood dogs, eating pizza, and watching movies.  It involved baking, bubble baths, lip gloss, and dancing. It involved Polly Pockets somehow.  I can’t remember each event, but I remember I learned to say, “Yes!”

“Why do I need a Yes! day?”  I ask her, rubbing my eyes and yawning.

“You need a break.  You need to say Yes! to yourself.”

(insert long pause as a mother sits up, tilts her head, and considers the wisdom of a child)

She’s nodding with the words of an ancient soul.  “You need to wake up and say Yes! to the stuff you want.  You know, the things you love.  Maybe just for a day, you could say Yes! to all the things you love and want.”  She furrows her eyebrows very seriously.  “Like coffee.  You could get the best coffee tomorrow.”   

I want to cry.  Moms forget to say Yes! to themselves.

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Journal:  What am I saying Yes! to today?