My husband and I are musicians. And we’re parents. Our “backstage” experiences with our son (our little frog) deeply affect who we are. Recent insights:

It’s been a rough February. Snows started in Boston at the end of January; and at this point we are all so beaten from trying to deal with a total of 7 feet of snow (so far). Work and school have been canceled. Yoga classes and social events are suspended. Parking bans have destroyed businesses’ profits. Power outages have been annoying, though thankfully short-lived.

During this inconvenient, expensive and disheartening chapter, we’ve tried to keep ourselves and our four-year old son active and upbeat-ish. It’s been too cold and the snow is too deep for snowpeople and snow angels; but we’ve made trips outside to shovel off the roof and make sledding hills and paths to the compost bin. So, it’s come down to lots of indoor dance parties and arts and crafts.

By the time St. Valentine’s Day had approached, we’d given up making plans. Most people ended up canceling their plans when more snow started, and when the T announced its second full closure day… When you have a little kid you can’t totally “give up.” But we weren’t in the mood to rally.

It was late afternoon and my husband was going out to chip ice and prepare for the next big snow when our son placed this on the table.

Sometimes it takes a small thing to boost a mood–this was both the smallest and the biggest thing that could have come our way. To witness this clever little boy teaching himself to write, read and express himself directly and thoughtfully is a gift. And this token was even more amusing and uplifting than BAD MOM from a few weeks ago.

Three little words… all we needed.