Being away from my kids can be an emotional roller coaster ride for them more than me. Am I a terrible mum? I do not think so. To me, when I am away, I make sure that every second spent is worthwhile and would benefit them directly or indirectly, eventually.

Thus, I will go all out to get things done as I was required to. It does not mean they are not on my mind. But because they are the reason why I am away, the easier it was for me to stay focus and commit to my tasks.

Away for 3 full days was exhausting, but rewarding. Luckily my boys are late-sleepers or else they would not haven seen me for a full 72 hours. I was a contributor during a 3-day seminar. Thus I had to be there before every thing started and almost after everything ended.

So in order to make sure that the boys KNOW that I am thinking of them, I ‘sent‘ them secret letters every day. It was also a tool to help Allan to have ‘smoother‘ parenting days.

zacticzenticThe rule was : The Boys needed to get a number of ticks on the smiling face Each Day, before they can open the letter for that day.

To get a tick, all they need to do, is listen to Allan’s instructions and act on it immediately.

For example, if Allan said “Go Brush Your Teeth.” They had to go without whining or dilly dally. If Allan had to repeat more than twice, then a tick on the sad face would appear.

All the letters were pre-prepared way before I attended the seminar.

day1Day 1:

My sis woke up earlier than my hubby. She saw Binbin’s sad face when he did not see me.

Without knowing this ‘rule‘, she gave the letter to Binbin to cheer him up. So the boys got their first letter without ‘working‘ for it.*faint*

That night, Binbin cried as he told me that he forgot to bring home ‘something‘ which he bought for me. I could not figure out what it was through his ‘choking-from-his-tears’ and never bothered to ask what it was either.

day2Day 2:

As you can see from above, Binbin (Zen) ‘worked‘ just as hard as his elder brother, Keatkeat (Zac) to make sure that he could open the second letter.

That night, Keatkeat asked “Mommy, is it going to be all notes? How about giving us a toy car?” *faint*

Asking such a question to a ‘Don’t-buy-toys-Mommy’, is as good as not buying a lottery ticket and hope you could win the lottery. Fat Chance! *laugh*

Day 3:

Oh well, like I had expected, Keatkeat likes surprises, so instead of giving notes, I gave a CARD on the 3rd day. Oh well, at least its NOT a note. *laugh* (Remember? I prepared everything way before the seminar. I think I really know my son very well. *wink*)

day3aday3b

The cutest thing was, ever since then, I receive ‘something‘ in an envelope from Binbin every day! *giggle* Which usually happens to be his toy car or an eraser or a small piece of artwork.  Nice! *smile*

What ‘special‘ thing do you do to your children when you are away from them? Do you bother to remind them that you are missing them? Has it become so routine that you have forgotten to tell them that you are loving them, even though you are not by their side? *wink*