Who Do You Want Them To Be?

Sometimes I love to sit and watch Laila. I love to see what she does when I am not playing with her and to try and figure out how her little mind works. The other day I caught myself examining her as she walked over to her baby doll, picked it up, gave her a big hug, kissed her lips, picked up her fake bottle and started feeding her sweet baby in her arms. She LOVES her little doll. As I watched her, I could tell she truly thought that she was taking care of this little baby. She looked up at me and smiled once she noticed I was looking at her. Even at just 12 months, her sweet spirit has a little motherly instinct.

Ever since that day, I have noticed little things that she has been doing. She loves putting on her pretend make-up, brushing her hair, reading books, making silly faces and making us laugh. She loves jewelry, splashing in the bath, holding the remote control, pushing buttons on the computer and holding my cell phone. As I have thought about EACH of these things that she has started doing, I have realized that she has picked them up… from ME! I did not teach her how to put make up on or that the remote control is used for the television. She has learned these things by simply watching me on a daily basis.

And then it hit me. Am I the person that I want Laila to become? Am I doing what I want her to do? Am I living the way I want my baby to see me live?

“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’? Unlike the book on the library shelf, the covers of which shield its contents, our lives cannot be closed. Parents, we truly are an open book in the library of learning of our homes.” – Thomas S. Monson

I have a list of reasons why I have always wanted to be like my mom, but a specific reason has always stuck with me. I had always known how important prayer was because we went to church every Sunday and prayed as family nightly. I also always remember as I walked up the stairs to go to bed, my parents reminding me to not forget to say my prayers. But it wasn’t through them telling me how important prayers were that I gained my testimony of it. It was through my mother’s example. I remember countless times walking into my mom’s bedroom after finishing my homework and found my mom on the side of her bed, down on her knees, praying to our Heavenly Father. Every night when I would walk in on my mom kneeling, I knew she was praying for me. I knew she loved me and I knew that she was talking to our Father in Heaven. I would quietly creep out of her room and go into mine. When I saw her praying, I would want to pray too. It is because of her example that I have a relationship with my Heavenly Father now and pray to him numerous times a day, because I now know for myself that prayers are answered.

I love country music! My husband isn’t much of a fan, but I love that a lot of them have story lines that I can connect with. One of my favorite songs is by Rodney Atkins called, “Watching You.” It is about a little boy who watches his dad and learns so much from him. It ends like this:

Cause I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool
I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
By then I’ll be as strong as superman
We’ll be just alike, hey won’t we dad
When I can do everything you do
Cause I’ve been watching you

Often times my friends tell me to watch out because Laila will soon be picking up on things that I do. I thought that was years down the road, but I was wrong! Little did I know that she has been watching me for a whole year! She has been studying and learning all about the things I do and now that she is on the move, she is putting what she has learned to practice!

When you think of the future of your children, what do you imagine? What will they be like? WHO DO YOU WANT THEM TO BE? I know they are watching. The good, the bad and even the ugly. They are learning and seeing what life is all about through the things their parents do. I hope we will try this week to be a little better. To try to set a GOOD example for our children. We can tell them to do things and not do things all day long, but it is through our example that they truly learn.

It is my hope that I can become the woman that I want Laila to be. And I hope that one day she will say, “I want to be just like my MOM.”

Danielle is the owner of Today's the Best Day. She strives to provide creative and uplifting content in order to enrich the parenting experience for women everywhere. Danielle hopes to help you and your family to make every day the best day!

January 13, 2014 by Danielle Davis | 2 Comments