As August nears and store bins bulge with school supplies, we sometimes forget the parents who sent us off to school on our first days. They were there to wipe our tears, give us pep talks of encouragement, and fill our backpacks full of special snacks and notes.

This fall, when you’re crossing off those massive back-to-school supply lists, grab a few items for a “Reverse Care Package” for your first teachers—mom and dad! This year we are teaming up with Minute Maid to share a message that is so very dear to our hearts. It’s called #doingood. You’ve probably heard us talk about it here and here.

Minute Maid knows that when you put good into your families, you get good out—even if it’s sometimes hard to see. Thank mom and dad by sending them a “Reverse Care Package” this back-to-school season!

Great Lengths

When I headed off to college for the first time, it was a family affair. My parents stuffed our brown Suburban with anything and everything they could think of that I might possibly need while there. My mom had packed a cooler with little plastic containers of homemade lasagna and enchiladas and I promised to freeze them and eat them regularly.

It must have taken her days to make all those meals and I felt her love in each container.

My dad painstakingly strapped my bike to the top of the Suburban, which he insisted with glistening eyes, that I get to class on time. We taped a sign in the back window that said, “Utah State or Bust!” and we were off. I was so excited, I hardly noticed the way my dad gripped the steering wheel or how my mom wiped back tears the entire way.

For parents, letting kids go off to school can be hard, whether it’s the first day of Kindergarten or the first day of college. We go to great lengths making sure they have the perfect lunch box or a sackful of quarters for the laundromat.

We worry about them when they’re gone. Will they make friends? Will they be lonely? Will they remember everything we taught them?

For all that effort and all that worry, it’s time to return the love.

Back-to-School Reverse Care Package

For all the packages they ever sent you, it’s time to give back. A Reverse Care Package is a special package you put together for mom and dad to let them know that they were #doingood then, and that they are #doingood now.

It’s a big huge hug from far away to say thank-you, because sometimes a package full of love is all it takes to brighten their day.

That first year of college was tough being so far away from my family. The hardest day was the day I turned 19. It was my first birthday away from home and no one on campus seemed to know or care that it was my birthday.

That afternoon I came home from class to a big brown package on my dorm step. Inside was a card and what my mom called a “Birthday Party in a Box.” It had confetti, party hats, party horns, a cake mix, a container of frosting, and 19 candles. I don’t think my mom will ever know how much that package meant to me that day.

Sometimes a package can make a tough day bright.

Comparing Apples to Parents

Our moms were our first teachers; our dads were our first professors. Their love, wisdom, and support helped us learn and grow. This year as your thoughts turn to back-to-school and teachers, take a moment to thank your original teachers with an apple-themed Reverse Care Package. 

Print off our FREE Checklist of Things You Taught Me and slip it into a box packed with apple goodies like dried apples, your favorite apple book, and Minute Maid Apple Juice. Because Minute Maid knows that what’s true for juice is true for families—when you put good in, you get good out.

Give mom a relaxing fizzy bomb bath with these easy DIY apple bath bombs. She’s going to love them! Just buy regular, round bath bombs and attach a faux leaf to the top.

 Thank mom and dad for all the lunches they packed, all the research projects they helped you complete, and for all the school plays and choir concerts they attended because you were their universe.

Parents, you are doing better than you think. Every day you are teaching your children through your patience, your encouragement, and best of all your love. Keep up the good work and remember all of the wonderful things—big and small—that you do to pour goodness into your families. You are #doingood!

Head to MinuteMaid.com/carepackage to find even more great ways to remind a parent in your life that they are #doingood with a reverse care package. And watch Minute Maid’s newest campaign video below!

Photography by Melodee Fiske

Thank you to Minute Maid for sponsoring this post. All opinions and stories are my own.