Like a Mirror to My Face

My girls.  They bring a smile to my face, just thinking of them!  And I say that knowing that their teenage years haven't hit yet!  In my opinion, I am probably in the best years of my life with them!  I get to reflect back on their toddler years and realize I have two budding young ladies that I am so proud of!  Yet, sometimes I get a little nervous about what I see and fear for their future.  Why, you ask?  Because a lot of their bad habits are MINE AND WHAT I HAVE TAUGHT THEM! 

Not directly, mind you.  I would never consciously teach my kids to not pick up after themselves or be scatterbrained or even short-tempered to those around them.  They simply learned the negative flaws that have haunted me through life!

It makes me want to fall to my knees and pray REALLY hard to help me fix my own flaws so they can't witness them anymore and take them for their own! 

Ignorance is bliss, of course, because they have NO idea what is ahead of them if they don't correct it.  But the truth is, as children, we follow our parents, because for the most part, we know of nothing else!  Well...until the teenage years where they know EVERYTHING and parents suddenly become stupid and useless in their lives!  (Think back....you know what I'm talking about!!!!)

Having children is like having a mirror up to your face!  I remember the first time I heard my daughter (circa 8 yrs old) stand up to her dad, yelling at him with the same voracity as he was throwing at her!  I stood around the corner and laughed at the mini-me that he'd created! (Oh ya, they copy him too). 

I hate to tell people with no children that they will never get it until/unless they have children, because I used to HATE hearing that myself!  I just didn't get it and I thought it was SUCH a rude statement!  But GOD is it true???

Your whole world is opened up and you can't help but view things differently.  It's almost terrifying when you think about it!  Your world is not your own anymore and your actions don't go without consequence.  Now, you have your little ones to be accountable to.  And if you make a bad decision, they will certainly pay the price as will you!

But in this instance, when I look at my kids and see the little nuances that they have stolen from me and absorbed as their own, I have to say; it's not all bad!  I can work on them being messy (though I will have to work on myself as well).  What I also see is their compassion.  Their sense of humor.  Their wit (I give daddy credit for that one).   When I look at my kids, I am happy.  Because though they will struggle with the 'stuff' that I have unknowingly and unwillingly thrust upon them, they are also graced with the goodness and love that really matters.  And seeing that makes that mirror not so difficult to look at!  I am a proud and fullfilled mommy!