Create Small Wins

Okay, Mother Friends, it’s time to Unite. 

It’s been a long spring. Our kids have had all sorts of things “taken away” from them, things that they didn’t expect. 

School (as they knew it) ended abruptly. 

Our kids were put into a totally new situation: learning from home.

Prom didn’t happen.

Promotions and graduations were postponed or cancelled.  

Many summer camps, which teenagers depended upon for a summer income, have been cancelled.

My kids miss their friends. They are getting sick of being home all day, every day. 

Now, there’s not much that you and I can do to stop the Pandemic and everything it has affected. But we DO have influence in our home. 

It’s time for some Small Wins, Mama. What is a small win? Well, it’s just those little things that you can do, to make Life Easier for your people. 

It’s how you actually go about creating a Beautiful Family Culture. 

Why you? Well, because you, as the MOTHER, are amazing. You are the creative force in your family, whether you know it or not, and by your encouragement, inspiration and willingness to have fun, you can be an agent of change for your family. 

What are some things that you can do to make today special?

Go to each of your people in your home and ask them:

1. How can we make today (or this weekend) special for you?
   1. What do you need?
   2. What would make you happy?

And do it, to the best of your ability, even with the quarantine in place. 

Create a culture of “WE.” Have fun. Build into your kiddos. 

Now, one note. We live in a culture that says go do EVERYTHING and do it BIG.

A Small Win is about doing something that makes life just a little bit better. It’s a kindness.  

It is taking your daughter to Target for something new. It’s letting your son play Frisbee outside with some friends on a large field. 

It’s building an obstacle course. Or a fort. Or a tent. 

It’s watching movies in that tent. With popcorn, of course. And the newest, best flavor of LaCroix: Hibiscus. Oh.my.stars.

Small wins.

You are a great mom. You just are. You have sacrificed much in the last several months. I know you are getting tired and wish for something different. 

Great.

That’s where your kids are, too. 

So Make Something Different. Today. On Purpose. Use your imagination combined with the love that you have for your kids and create a small win. 

We’ve been playing a lot of poker, pitch and Black Jack. My kids love card games, especially when their dad puts $5 in the pot. (Don’t play any type of poker with my daughter, Malaysia. She always wins.) 

If you want to play an easy-to-learn game, play NERTS with your family. 

We’ve been playing this card game consistently during quarantine. It’s super fun.  

Think solitaire but you only have four “work piles” instead of seven. And in those four piles, there are none face down. Just four cards facing up.

There are thirteen cards in the nerts or “peanuts” pile. The object of the game is to get rid of those thirteen cards the fastest. Any cards that you have leftover, you count against you. (We don’t double it.) 

I could go through all of the rules and such, but this site is pretty thorough: How to Play Nerts. 

Now, what I like about this new version of the game: it’s for multiple players. As long as each person has their own deck (markings on the back are different) then they can play.

How old do you have to be? Well, my 11-year old has been beating me at this game for several years, so it’s safe to say that an 8-year old can learn (and soon beat you) at this game. 

We’ve played it with five or more players, and that gets insane super quickly, which is fun in its own way, but we’ve found the most sustainable fun to be with four people. 

Building into your family in intentional ways creates a great spirit in the family. It just does. And right now is THE BEST time to create some spirit in the home. Why? Because they need it. We all do. 

Create some fun memories. Create small wins, Mamacita! 

P.S. I’m not about depleting all of my Mama Energy until I bleed out in front of everyone. I have been mastering the art of Self Care. Read more about that here: Finding Your Happy. 
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