The 1,000th Note

Thursday is a special day. Well, for me it is. Addison and Jackson have no idea what number I’ve compiled, but Thursday is the 1000th note I’ve written. As many people know, this journey of notepads and Sharpies began with Addison in fourth grade in 2017. With this school year, I started penning messages to Jackson as he entered middle school…the same age when I started with Addison.

The constant moving and uprooting of our family was the reason why I started this daily exercise with Addison. When she started middle school in 2017, it was her fourth school in five years. I initially didn’t want to do the same for Jackson because - well - I wanted my kids to be their own person. I didn’t want them to have the same lived experience. I wanted them to have their own journey. However, when Jackson asked me to write him messages at the start of fourth grade, I couldn’t say no.

As we speed quickly to the end of this school year, my mind is constantly thinking about what I haven’t already told my kids or what else I can share with them. With 1,000 notes down, my biggest fear is that I’ll disappoint them or they’ll hate what I wrote them.

The last day of junior high in May will be my 900th note to Addison, and I’ll would have written my 1000th note to her sometime during her freshman year in high school. I’m still not ready to be the dad of a high schooler.

Ultimately, all I care about is this: I hope the words I share with my kids make an impact on them as they grow up, and I hope they can help other parents too.

Note 1,000 (March 12, 2022)

Note 900 (December 30, 2021)

Note 800 (October 20, 2021)

Note 700 (August 12, 2021)

Note 300 (April 15, 2019)

Note 600 (January 20, 2021)

Note 200 (October 16, 2018)

Note 500 (August 10, 2020)

Note 100 (February 7, 2018)

Note 400 (December 11, 2019)

Note 1 (August 14, 2017)