Sunday, October 11, 2009

Top Ten!

Top Ten (or however many I can come up with!) things you do you do NOT want your child to learn from watching YOU:

10. Drinking out of the milk carton
(it's okay for me because it's soy milk and she and I are the only ones who drink out of it.)

9. How to crack her knuckles.
(It's that much worse when I have to confess that my mom taught me and my friends how to do this!)

8. To sweep the hardwoods with her feet
(already there.)

7. That a potty mouth does not mean the way you speak when you're on the potty. (
Because really, if that's what she thinks it is, who am I to teach her otherwise?)

6. That using
Purell to clean your hands after going to the bathroom is the same as washing them. (I know, I know, it's not cool. But seriously, you try turning on the water and getting to the soap while your child is standing on her potty stool and there are 2-3 cats vying for the faucet because obviously you make them live in a desert with no water around for miles.)

5. That it's normal to go to the bathroom with the door open.
(See #6 for more info.)

4. That someone
(who, me?) will be taking pictures of nearly every minute of her life for the next 30-something years.

3. That talking to the television is okay.
(Because really, even though we all do it [I mean, come on, you know you do!] it's really not okay, it's kind of odd. No?)

2. That it is impossible to go an entire day without turning on the computer.


And the #1 thing you do not want your child to learn from watching you:


That a strong sense of self-esteem is not essential to happiness. So on those days when you're feeling down and out, look to those eyes, smile, and remind yourself that you are a teacher. Every minute of every day that you spend with this lovely little being, you are teaching her (or him, or them) that it is important to be who you are, respect one another, and know what the important things in life are all about. Be strong, stay strong, you ARE strong. Woman or man, mommy or daddy, friend or relative, you are you. If you're in the life of a child, you need to show them that being you is exactly what you're meant to do in this world, and being who you are and how you are is a part of all of that. And that they should go on into their days and nights doing just the same for themselves. Because they're amazing, incredible, and you (WE!) love them!

2 comments:

  1. Perfect. I realized the other day, my teenage girls are all confident girls, comfortable in their own skin and I thought to myself, "Yeah, I did that." It was a sweet feeling. The best gift you can give a girl.

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