When I was a little girl, my Aunt set up a "love" box for my brother and me. It was kind of a swapping of favors thing: I would write down some way that I would be willing to help ("I'll help you clean your room, just ask.") - and when that task was done, it was his turn to put something in the box. There was no real schedule, although we sort of had "at least once a week!" in our heads. It was a joy to hand it to him at breakfast when I had thought of something useful. I clearly remember sorting his favorite candy out of my Halloween basket and saving some to put in the box for him. We also saved up some of our allowance sometimes, to surprise each other with a small gift - once it was a new toy car because I had broken the old one.
I'm sure you could think up all sorts of variations for such a thing, and decorating them can be a fun project. Gifts don't have to be expensive. You can give each other the gift of time, just like we do with a soup kitchen or Habitat for Humanity. My brother and I have always had a great bond. I partially blame the box. We had a system for helping each other out, we were in control of it, we made it work.
I'm sure you could think up all sorts of variations for such a thing, and decorating them can be a fun project. Gifts don't have to be expensive. You can give each other the gift of time, just like we do with a soup kitchen or Habitat for Humanity. My brother and I have always had a great bond. I partially blame the box. We had a system for helping each other out, we were in control of it, we made it work.
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein
