Notebooks & Goodbye Notes

I just arrived home from a surprise trip to Massachusetts. I drove north to surprise my niece and nephew for Halloween...and I did! 

On my second day there, my niece grabbed a notebook she had from a year ago. She asked me to work in our notebooks together. I told her that I was her age when my mother gave me my first notebook. She said she wanted to use notebooks too- just like me- except she wants to draw in her notebooks. I told her that she's the boss of her own notebooks, and that sounded like a great idea to me!

We spent time each day doodling and writing in our pages. 

She showed me some of her drawing tricks and I showed her some of the things that I wrote. It was heaven. 

Saying goodbye is always hard, so a tradition I started when they were young is I leave them a goodbye note. My nephew always reminds me that he has a collection of all of my notes. I usually leave in the morning before anyone wakes up, so it gives them one more surprise. 

When I got home last night after a long day of driving, I got two texts. My sister texted me to show me what my niece was doing...

 A few minutes later, I got this text from my niece...

Be still my heart!!! Today I will be texting her what I did in my notebook. The power of writing to develop relationships is real. I witnessed it. I am living it.

Sharing as a slice at Two Writing Teachers!