Several months ago, our eldest was bemoaning the fact that she is no longer "cute." An
astute observation for a seven year old, she realized that she was growing up and out of the adorable stage. With her little sisters almost all solidly cute, she wasn't sure how life was going to work out without cuteness on her side. With a little prayer, I related to her about my cousin, Murphy. Now, she's not really "cute" per
se (though she sure was!)--now she has grown past that. Now she is AWESOME. She is constantly looking for how to make other people more comfortable, how to make sure everybody (including each little kiddo) is having a good time, and she'll sacrifice super-fun grown-up hang out time to take kids to the park. She is awesome...
Well, my dear husband came recently came up with a system to
monetize this special quality. Murphy Awesome Points. The MAP system. When our children do something particularly helpful or sweet or awesome, they are awarded "Murphy Awesome Points." The girls will be happy to get us all napkins, or take the laundry out of the dryer, or help a little sister get her carseat buckled--grinning from ear to ear when we say: "20 Murphy Awesome Points for you!"
Well, I knew I had to write about it this morning, because my 3 year old, Leah, was asking me to put her new lip gloss back in her bucket (which was out of her reach). I said, "Sure!" and went and put it away. "20 Murphy Awesome Points, Mommy!" I have to admit, it made me smile, too.
