I was relaxing on our couch with a glass of hot tea (yummy! if you put flavored cream in it). Because I was reading, I wasn’t paying too much attention to where I was placing my hand while reaching for my glass and the next thing I know the tea had spilled on the carpet, rug, couch and on a bunch of cord outlets. “ Oh shi%^" I accidentally said. The next thing I hear from my sweet 2 year old curly haired girl is, “Oh shi*^”, grinning from ear to ear. She was smiling with pride, not because she had any clue what either of us said, but because she loves acting like mommy.
My kids like to imitate me. If I wash the dishes, they like to use their soapy hands to scrub off their plates. If daddy is mowing the lawn, Nathan begs to go out with him just to be a part of what he is doing. They are always watching, listening, observing, assessing, and learning. I love it when I spill something (ya, spilling happens to me a lot) and Grace lovingly says, "That's ok mommy. That happens." I love it because I know what comes out of her mouth has a lot to do with what she has heard.
So what are my kids learning from me? I hope they are learning simple tasks like cleaning up after themselves, working hard, and eating healthy. Do these things really matter though? Although having quiet children at the dinner table or children who put their dirty clothes in the hamper are nice (and make life easier), is this what raising a child is about? When they are grown and think about what they learned from daddy and mommy, what do I want them to remember? What do I want them to see and feel each morning they wake up and what do I want them to hear again when their head hits the pillow? What am I doing to encourage or discourage these things from happening? Do I think about ways I can implement these things during the mundane hours of the day or am I just going through the motions (trying to survive these moments)?
One thing I love about watching my kids play is how much they enjoy life, especially the simplest things. They see a bird and squeal with delight because of its silly beak. They make up their own words and giggle with delight. They are amazed at the size of the construction equipment we drive past every day. This is when I want to imitate them. Enjoy life...laugh...notice the little things...be grateful. Mommy see, mommy do, right?!
