Day 328 The Perfect Mom Project

Todays photo is a shot of Avery and me from behind...please note the legs.

Since I was younger, (in my very early teens and on) I have had a habit of standing on one leg, similar in some ways to a Pink Flamingo. I perch my left foot just above my knee on my right leg, and that is how I stand. I would stand like this to do the dishes, or as I was doing something that required me to be near a counter for long periods of time. As I would apply my makeup in the mornings, I would stand on my left leg and rest my right leg on the counter in front of me. I have never really thought about it, it is just a habit I have had. As I was going about the house cleaning and picking up the other day I came across Avery standing in the kitchen on one leg doing the dishes. It was like looking back in time and seeing me as a young girl. "Avery, when did you start doing that?" I asked her. "What?" Avery said looking at me like she was afraid I was mad at her. "Standing on one leg?" "Oh…I don't know I just stand like this, why?" At that point I started to laugh, because I realized that Avery was more like me then I had ever realized, it is actually scary how much of my habits she has.

 Time to be honest I guess…growing up, my room was a giant pig sty! I remember going away to camp and my Mom cleaning my room while I was gone. Avery actually comes by the whole dirty room thing naturally. We have the same nose, which Avery was complaining about yesterday. All of her complaints about our nose were duly noted, since I have felt the same way about mine my whole life. We have the same quirky way of looking at things and her ravenous reading habit is very much like when I was her age. It really is sometimes like looking through the looking glass at my former self.

 All of my children have things that remind me of Mark or me and it is always a catch twenty two. If they are good things (this being good by my standards of course), I celebrate them, but if they are not so good (again my opinion) then I panic and ponder how to change them for the better (once again my standards). As I reflect on my discovery that Avery is a leg "percher", I realize that my girls are going to be showing signs of being our children for the rest of their lives. I distinctly remember the first time I looked in the mirror and saw my Mom staring back at me, or even the times that I have spoken or done some crazy thing and realized that I was speaking or acting just like my Mom, yikes! It is just another gift that we give our kids. Sometimes it's a positive and sometimes it is a negative, but that is what makes life so much fun, watching how each of us uses those little nuances that make us part of a family.