Saturday, November 21, 2009

Hope Springs Eternal (Repost)



I believe that certain abilities and traits (good and bad) are passed down either by heredity or simply by growing up around said traits and abilities. I'd be willing to bet that anyone who has a child over the age of 3 has seen a personality trait in their child that they immediately recognize as one that is shared by either themselves or their spouse. Of course, the bad ones can usually be attributed to the spouse, but I digress.

Both my children are good examples of this hypothesis. But I will focus on my daughter for the purposes of this blog post. She loves all things creative (me), is a problem solver (dh), a bit of a diva (dh, okay me), loves to sing (me), paint (me), is good at building things (dh), likes to read (me), is sensitive to the feelings of others (hopefully both of us), laughs easily (me), and is a total grouch in the morning (totally dh). And while she is completely unique and has her own distinct personality, she is also a combination of the two of us. She looks more like me, but I've got dominant genes on my side (brown hair, eyes, etc.).


There is one thing about her that kinda baffles me. She is a total girly girl. It's not that I don't love that about her, I think it's incredibly adorable. I just don't know where that came from. She love pink, Barbies, her American Girl dolls, fashion (i.e. - all things fancy), and jewelry. I'm just not like that at all. And dh, well, don't even go there. As evidence, I present Exhibits A, B and C: my daugther's room circa 2004, 2006 and 2008, respectively. And yes, I did it all myself.

Now, back to the my original train of thought. As a parent, I secretly delight when I see my children take interest in or excel at something that I'm into. Just as I cringe when I see a less desirable trait that I share, like forgetting where they put anything, rear its ugly head. But in all honesty, as long as she is true to who she is, I'm good with it. I have accepted the fact that my daughter is the living embodiment of "Fancy Nancy".
Tonight was open house at the kids' school. When I walked into my daughter's classroom, her teacher greeted my husband and me, then immediately asked if we had seen my daughter's turkey. Typically, kids this age and younger make a paper turkey, and on each feather write something they are thankful for. On this particular turkey, their instructions were to imagine the turkey could talk and write some of the things that he or she would say. (Her teacher is awesome.) Imagine my surprise when I read the following on my daughter's turkey:
-Please do not eat me because I am pregnant.
-Please do not eat me because I am krazy.
-Please do not eat me because I am too big for your oven.
-Please do not eat me because I will explode in your oven and cover it with blood.
-Please do not eat me because I have diarrhea.
Perhaps the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree after all. (*smile*)
Update: My daughter no longer likes pink. As a matter of fact, she has informed me that orange is her favorite color. She HATES pink, and she wants a whole new room. Grrr....

7 comments:

Glynn said...

I have two sons. I was on the phone with the youngest the other night (he's in college), and when I hung up, I looked at my wife. "He talks just like me," I said, with evident surprise in my voice. "So does his brother," she said. "And they both act just like you." What?

Loved this post.

Kelly Sauer said...

oh golly, I just love her room, though! Don't let her change it!

I've been getting to know your blog a bit more lately - I so enjoy you!

Heather Sunseri said...

I love it!!! That is so funny. I love watching our children develop their own personalities. It is especially fun when they surprise us with something, and then we step back and see ourselves. Thanks for sharing this. I could totally relate, except that I have a difficult time finding the time to redo a bedroom that many times. You're incredibly talented, by the way. Great rooms.

Candy said...

As I was reading this I knew what my comment would be - then you stole my all-time favorite parent/child line: "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." I've seen it a thousand times, and especially since the kids have grown up.

"Don't eat me because I am krazy." I spit my tea on my keyboard at that one. She is adorable. I'll let you figure out where she got that trait.

Ginny (MAD21) said...

This is funny. I really like each of the rooms, LOVE the last one. My daughter would love them all as well. You are a good mom to do such great things with her space.

I am constantly amazed at how much we are learning as parents, right along with our kids. In our quest to help them be good people, we first have to take a long look in the mirror.

My daughter and I are just like you and yours. She looks like me, her personality is like mine. Scary stuff to see a little version of yourself walking around, isn't it?

Elizabeth @claritychaos said...

This got me laughing my butt off. What a great way to start the morning. Still chuckling....

Maureen said...

Wonderful post.

It's great that your daughter has an "amazing" teacher. One who was not amazing probably would have convinced her to write something else on the feathers, and that would have been a negative influence for sure.

So much talent shines here, through you and through your daughter.