Imprints On My Kids

A friend gave me a perpetual calendar for my Christmas present, and it’s a calendar with 365 favorite quotes for mum.

Interestingly, even though I’ve never cared much for such stuffs, the quotes in the calendar have been pretty meaningful and thought-provoking so far. Just now, I casually flipped to the page on my birthday – 20 June, and liked what I saw:

Isn’t this a double-edged sword?

Good imprints are left on the lives of the kids just like bad imprints are. Mums and dads play such an important role in the lives of their children that sometimes I think it’s under-rated. We all want to leave good imprints in the lives of our kids, but how many of us really do?

I am a very impatient person by nature. I love things to be done fast and at the snap of a finger. I cannot stand people who dilly dally, talk slowly, walk slowly or do their job slowly. I’m sorry to sound unspiritual but slow people just irks me completely.

If you know me personally, you should know I talk like a machine gun. I walk fast, type on my laptop fast, SMS fast… basically do everything fast. I have no mercy and no tolerance for slow things. Period.

So guess what?

My daughter, Joey, is a very impatient person too! I really hope it’s only because it’s a common trait for all children at her age, but if it’s not, then it must be me. It’s Mummy’s fault!

You know that children walk very slowly right? It’s a common sight to see toddlers trudging slowly 5 steps behind their parents on the streets. It’s mostly because they have shorter legs, but also because they like to stroll when they walk. It’s like they have all the time in the world (which is actually quite true at their age), and they stop to admire the minutest thing on the ground.

I have lost count of the number of times I hurried Joey to walk faster, eat faster, take off clothes faster, dress up faster. As an irritating intelligent toddler, she’s been repeating a lot of those to me.

Joey: Mummy, I want to eat this packet of chips.

Mummy: You got to wait for a while. After dinner, we’ll eat.

Joey: No, I have to eat it now.

Mummy: No, wait. Patience, please.

Joey: No, I cannot wait! I want to eat it NOW! NOW! NOW!!

I think it’s retribution.

It’s a timely reminder, that I got to be vigilant in my  behavior all the time, so that I can be the best example to my kids. Monkey see. Monkey do. So it’s not something I can prevent. I want to impart to my kids love for people and love for God. I want them to grow up to be people whom I can be proud of, people who love and are loved.

Deep down in my heart, somehow, I know they will be. :)

Random photos just to remind you how cute they are.

 

The next time I’m going to be impatient again, someone remind me of this post please.