As the last in his family to leave for the day, "the Dad" of parenting blog And I'm the Dad is also designated to pack everyone's lunches.
When his son was going through a particularly rough time, the Dad decided to kick his lunch notes up a notch to try and brighten his day. Looking at the whimsical notes, we can only assume they did the trick. In addition to his son, recipients now include the Dad's daughter and wife.
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Deciding what to wear in the morning is difficult enough, so how does the Dad come up with original notes day after day?
"The notes are influenced by several things," he told Mashable (the Dad declined to disclose his real name). "Sometimes it's a topic we discussed that morning or the night before. Other times, it might be along a theme, like the alphabet series I did for my daughter, who is in kindergarten and still learning to read."
The Dad added that his kids have different views on his process: "If my son sees me making a note, he doesn't want to see it: It has to be a surprise when he opens his lunchbox. My daughter, however, saw me making these for her brother long before I made them for her, so now she has to participate in the process ... She may even add her own touches to it."
So far, the Dad said his daughter's favorite is "probably the hedgehog," while his son prefers ones that require intricate folding for secret messages and images.
The Dad said he "freely admits" that many of the notes could be considered "dorky," but all we see is a father who really loves his family.
Color provided by the Dad's daughter, Beth.
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Images: Lunch Notes, by And I'm the Dad