Being Her Example

As we put Oaklyn down for bed tonight, Hunter asked... "are her eyes brown?" He has always wanted a brown eyed girl. His eyes are brown, the only one in his family, and when the nurse in the hospital told us Oaklyn's eyes are brown Hunter was thrilled. Over the past 4 years, I've noticed hints of green and bits of gold in the sun so I personally think they are more hazel. But, Hunter is still holding out for his brown eyed girl. So when he asked again tonight if her eyes looked brown, I responded as I usually do; "yeah they have some brown, but I see some green too." Oaklyn then looked up at me and said, "just like you, right mom? Me and you both have green in our eyes, right?" I responded with "yeah mine have a little bit of green in them." Then Hunter said, "but you also have brown like daddy!" Oaklyn did not like that answer and quickly let him know that her eyes are like mommy's and not his. Oaklyn is pretty much a spitting image of Hunter, with my hair. We hear it all the time, but Oaklyn doesn't like it. She is always telling me that her hair is like mine and not her dads. That her clothes are like mine, her smile is like mine, one time she even told me her pinky looks like mine. I've always thought it was sweet that she wants to be just like me, but today it felt sweeter than ever. As she looked up at me with a little wrinkle in her nose and the cutest baby teeth smile, I felt so much joy that I was raising a daughter that wants to be just like me. 

After putting Oaklyn to bed and getting ready to put myself to bed, I started thinking more about raising my daughters. I felt so excited for the future... for back to school shopping, for prom dresses, for lunch dates, cooking holiday meals, for dance recitals, trips to get our nails done, girl talk, planning their weddings, and for teaching them that they are strong women. I kept coming back to Oaklyn's words, "Just like you mommy." They kept playing in my head. She wants to be just like me. She wants to look like me, act like me, talk like me, dress like me, and right now I am her biggest example of what a woman should be. My daughters will grow up knowing their mother did things a certain way, and then be able to choose if that's the way they want to do them. So, I hope to be setting the best example I can be. Whether we like it or not, we all become like our mothers... right? I hope as my girls grow older, I give them an example theyare proud to mimic. If you choose to drink orange juice with your breakfast every morning, chances are your daughter will too. If you choose to wear heels to church every week, your daughter will probably beg you for a pair of heels. If you show an interest in dance, your daughter will probably want to be a dancer. Our girls want to be just like their mommies, so let's give them an example we're proud of. We're raising the future of women and it's up to the mamas of little girls to be an example of strength, love, integrity, kindness, positivity, devotion, and virtue. I feel like if I want my girls to turn out the way I hope, I need to make sure I'm a good example first. I hope my Oaklyn girl knows that she can be and do whatever she puts her mind to, but if she chooses to be like her mama, I promise to give her an example I'm proud to have her follow. 

All my love,

Aleigh Joy