The words our kids use.

After waking up this morning Dru walked into the living room and made a direct path towards the kitchen.  This was unusual because most mornings he normally lays on the couch rather lazily after waking up.  I asked him where he was headed and he used a term that seemed kind of unusual to me.  Not because I hadn't heard it before or even used it myself.  Maybe it was something in the tone of his voice.  I'm not sure.  Regardless, he said he was headed to the "restroom."

As he walked away I couldn't help but think, "why did he use that term?"  Normally Misty and I refer to it as a bathroom.  The more I thought about it I began to realize that Dru refers to it as a restroom most of the time whether at home or out in public.  I sat there pondering for a moment on his word choice and got back to what I was doing.  As I did my own thing, I thought about how kids are so often like their parents but so different as well.

Parents all have that dreaded moment occur at some point when they say something, react in a certain way, or do something the exact same way their parents did.  At that moment we all stop in horror and make the same general comment about how "I'm turning into my mother/father."  We're horrified yet, hopefully, pleased that we've turned into that person who was the source of so much discipline as we grew up.  The only problem with that vicious cycle is that our kids, learning from our example, will one day develop into something that resembles us.

For most that is a terrifying prospect.  We're worried that our worst traits will be the ones exemplified in the life of our son or daughter.  We just know that our good qualities are the ones that will be left to the wayside as our children mature.  We're worried that certain phrases we've said will be picked up by these mockingbird kids and repeated at the most inappropriate of times.  Regardless of the words or actions that our kids pick up from us, we need to be sure that we are setting the right, consistent example for our kids.  That means being the same person in public that we are in private, no matter how hard it is.  That means being consistent on the things that mean the most, like discipline and matters of faith.  In the end, we can look back on our lives spent raising these tiny beings, that came with no instruction manuals, and be reassured we did everything we could to raise them right.  The only way we can do that is if we set the right, consistent example day in and day out.

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