Fridge Doodles

If you haven't landed on @boogesmom instagram page already, I highly recommend it for some real feel good content. I was scrolling one night and found this reel that said "I've been doodling on my fridge every night for nearly 3 months" It has 5.4M views and it shows Melani (booges mom) drawing characters and movie scenes we all know and love like curious george, toy story, doug funny and spiderman. You see her sweet little guy running out to the kitchen each morning to discover the magic that his mom has created for him.  I was in tears thinking about this special bond that Melani and her son would have forever. This particular memory that he will hopefully carry with him forever.  It's such an important reminder to just slow things down, find the joy, find that special something for your kids, build those memories in the small quiet moments at home. These are the things our kids will hold onto forever.  

I was so happy when Melani agreed to write a little something for our community space. She is just magic. I hope you enjoy her story as much as I did. 

My name is Melani and "fridge doodles" are my Jam. I reside in Mesa Arizona, and I’m honestly not quite sure what sparked the initial “doodle” back in May of this year. I have always loved art (although I have no formal art training), and have always used “doodling” as a creative outlet for fun every once in awhile. I actually started doodling in a similar fashion on the whiteboard at work while I was serving in the military (circa 2015), as a morale booster for the guys I worked with - it was a lot less Disney at the time, but nostalgic and feel-good nonetheless… I did it on and off for about a year before my discharge in 2016.

Fast forward, I have NO idea why it took so long to do something similar for my son, but one evening while he and my husband were asleep I decided to quickly draw Buzz Lightyear with the note “Have a great day at work StarCommand” for my husband. The next morning, I awoke to a “mission log (note)” written alongside Buzz, left by my husband for our son… and the way his eyes lit up when he saw his hero on the fridge will FOREVER stick with me. I just knew that it was something I HAD to keep doing. 

I posted the original “doodle” to my instagram stories, and started getting messages from all of my old military friends reminding me of the doodles I did, and how much they meant to them at the time. Although this was something I did for my son, the messages just kind of solidified my desire to keep doing it… not only for him (and myself), but because of the joy it brought to others. For the last three(ish) months, I’ve continued “doodling” each night (except Saturday evenings now), and cover everything from “classic Disney”, to 90’s cartoons, realism, you name it. 

Each drawing takes about 15 minutes (on average), brings such  joy to my son and connects us on such a unique level. He sprints to the kitchen most mornings, and the joy we share together for those few quiet moments is such a beautiful thing. Honestly, it’s become a constant reminder for me to slow down and to keep the magic alive for him as long as possible. Although he knows that I am the “doodler”, he loves them tremendously and I love being able to start his day (and mine) with a smile each and every morning.