"I Wanna Be, I Wanna Be, I Wanna Be Like..."

My dear, sweet daughter...

...is just.like.me.

My poor, sweet daughter...

...is just.like.me.

For example:

She refuses to do anything on anyone else's time line.  She wants it to be in her timing.

She doesn't like to practice much of anything.  She wants to master something the first time she attempts a new feat.  It is frustrating for her to fail at something, even if she does it perfectly the very next try.

She is a neat freak.  Literally.  She tries to "convince" Micaiah to put his cars away instead of leaving them on the floor.  This really is a nice trait for one of your children to possess, unless it is during a time when the other siblings are actually playing with the cars/toys.  She gets so upset when the house is a wreck, even during play time.

When we did the whole house rearrange a few months ago we bought a CD player to go in Areyna's room.  She decided that she wanted to "decorate" it.  The stickers that she carefully placed over the entire player were absolutely stunning.  (insert sarcasm)  I held my tongue and just let her decorate away.  A couple of days later she was sitting on the couch while we were just hanging out and she jumped up and told me that she HAD to get those stickers off of her CD player because it made her feel like her room was all messy.  Hmmm, where does she get that from?!

I've witnessed her say some of the rudest things to her brothers.

And then I realized that she is just taking my lead.  I talk to them so rude sometimes.  I forget that they are little people with big feelings.  I forget that the family unit, while the parents hold the control, must have mutual respect.  I forget that it's okay for the house to be a wreck while we are playing and having fun.  I forget that Areyna's (and Zeke's and Micaiah's) creative juices flow differently than mine do, and that's ok!  I forget that practice is what makes us better and that repetition in the areas that we aren't so good at is healthy.  I forget that other people have walked the same path that I'm walking now and that I can learn a lot from others and their suggestions.

As I watch my children grow up to be more and more like me it makes me realize that I have a lot to learn.  I want to exemplify what God wants his children to be like.