Whuh?

I found this note on the floor of my eight-year-old son's room. At first I thought my poor child was suffering from extreme self-esteem issues. It turns out, my darling was just writing a little something to tape on the back of some unsuspecting person (his dad was the target, according to his sister) as a joke. 

After my initial panic, my instinct was to correct the misspellings. Idiot has an i in it, geek is spelled with a K, not a C. All day is not one word. I curbed that impulse. My husband and I read the note together later and both agreed that the "In conclusion..." part at the end was our favorite. No, my child did not get in trouble. In fact, I haven't told him I found and read this little treat.

I'm the one always telling my kids they can write whatever they want, in any format, for fun. That in writing they can be bad, talk back, do things they can't do in real life. I find bizarre notes and stories around the house quite frequently, and they are not always mine. Every time one of my kids puts pen to paper, I do feel a sense of satisfaction. Even when I teach upper-grade writing groups, I tell the kids to not worry about spelling for my exercises, to just focus on the writing.

So, back to the note. No harm done. I'll just have to remember to start checking my own backside before I leave the house.