Love In A Paper Towel

Finally. A resolution of many new year's past has been realized- the waste free lunch. Waste here is of course relative, as only the kids really know which foods get tossed or, the grail of goodies, traded. But the waste that I can control is now under control. It's not that much more difficult to send a packed lunch free of plastic baggies and aluminum foil. It is quite a bit more difficult to make sure that the reusable food storage makes its way back home to be cleaned and reused the following day. (Hint- invest in double the storage...just in case. Actually, I can just about guarantee the backup set will be employed by the third day of the new program.)

There is one disposable, yet still evergreen in its impact, item that I am unable to bury for good- the love note. Though it has improved in its efficiency, there are no plans for its ultimate demise. Once sent on a separate post-it, it has evolved into a two-fer on a paper towel: "wipe your face, sweetie and oh, how I love you". I've tried multiple writing utensils and had finally landed on the ultra fine-tip Sharpie for the job, but recently invented a three-fer approach that mitigates the risk of my youngest smearing his face with a juicy-wet ink, and saves me the effort of holding a wiggly-bumpy paper still in place under the pull of the pen's tip, all the while just still waiting patiently for the caffeine to do its own job. To accomplish this feat, I pull off two paper towels and lay them together. Then, create a crease one-third of the way from any of the edges. On this crease I cut a tear-drop, thereby rendering a heart shape in each paper towel, ready to safely convey my motherly love. The bonus (hence the third objective met): two little paper hearts that I deliver to the front-gate of my husband's coffee cup each morning. Silent and sweet, the last moment of its kind before a day full of ____________. Good morning.