Remember when we were all young, and we all swore we'd never become our parents? We'd never do to our kids what our parents did to us? Well, I've become just like my parents. I've bought matching shirts for Aisling and Ceilidh. I used to hate having the exact same outfit as my younger sister. Maybe I should buy matching outfits for my "twins" instead.
I find myself repeating what my parents used to say to me at the dinner table - "Clean your plate. You're very fortunate to have good food to eat because there are starving children all over the world."
Or, "I wouldn't complain about dinner. You're lucky to have a mother and father who care enough to cook healthy and yummy food. Some children aren't lucky enough to have parents, or even enough food to eat."
And everyone knows this one: "Stop crying, or I'll give you something to cry about!"
But I realized I had become just like my parents, when I caught myself in this scenario. (Although, it's not really a bad thing because I think my parents did a great job. After all, we've all turned out okay, right?)
Devlin was upset about something. A common occurrence that happens five or six times a day in the life of a five year old. He stomped up the stairs. (Quite a feat for a child who weighs 31 pounds soaking wet.) I made him return, and go back up the stairs quietly. He stomped back up again. We repeated the exercise until he learned to ascend the stairs with quiet footfalls. And when he almost at the top, he gave one last stomp before running into his room.
That's when I saw my dad in me, and...myself in Devlin because that last act of rebellion was just like me.
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