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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Happy Birthday Pumpkin


 

 My Emily turned 22 yesterday.
To you young Mom's
or Mom's to be, I give you this advice.


♥hold on tight to your little girls...
♥Read to them, every night while you can...
♥play with them every chance you get...
♥be silly with them a lot..
♥let them "help" you cook,
no matter how messy it gets...
♥let them fix your hair, even if it hurts...
♥sing with them, even the weird hip hop or tiny bop...
♥let them "help" with their little siblings,
so what if the diaper isn't put on right,
it's about learning and trust...
♥get to know their friends...
♥ get to know their teachers...
♥take your turn being a Room Mom...
♥be the Brownie, Girl Scout or youth church leader...
♥go to every game, practice, competition
(yes even if it means sitting for 4 hours to watch them perform for 3 minutes)...
♥teach them chores and expect them to do them...
♥make boundaries because you love them...
♥know when to be the mean Mom...
♥follow through...
♥don't be judgmental...
♥let her develop her own style, not the one you want them to have...
♥respect her, cherish her, and love her.

The reward of seeing her develop into a fine woman will amaze you.
Mine do me.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

:) love you. em

Lori ann said...

oh janis. this made me cry. my baby is 20 today, december 19. and she's so far away, we are on opposite coasts.
i read your list and nodded my head yes to each and every one. i only wish i could go back and do it all again. i miss it so much.

you are such a lovely mom and it always shows in every thing you write about your beautiful girls.

happy 22nd emily, you have such a wonderful future ahead of you. and such a wonderful mom behind (and beside you).

love,
lori

Kristen In London said...

Gorgeous, so touching, Janis. Until I got to the part about watching the events for four hours even if your child's only in 3 minutes, and then I had to laugh: last week's skating show - three hours, Avery on the ice for 92 seconds! So true, though. It's worth every moment. Good for you for helping us think about it.

Mark Pressley said...

Mine turns 23 Thursday
Well said Janis
Dad to a Daughter is a pretty good thing to be also