Ava slept late this morning. She was in our bed (which is where she often ends up after waking up in a fuss sometime during the night), and as I was getting ready for work, I stopped for a second to watch her breathe all stretched out on the rumpled sheets.
I often wonder if she’s going to grow up to be like either Leah or me. Not just in her personality or some physical quirk, but as a whole person. Will she be ambitious? Gentle? Thoughtful? Funny? Caring?
We all know plenty of people whose adult children are nothing like them (we may even be some of those adult children). And then there are those who have kids who’re like carbon copies of their parents (get it? Carbon copies?!) I wonder how this happens. Given the overwhelming genetic inheritance and the amount of time a typical child spends with its parents as it grows, it’s a wonder we’re not all exactly like our folks.
Life must be full of these opportunities to form an independant personality. We’re really starting to see it in Ava even now. If we do something she doesn’t like, she’ll say, “No!” or push us away and say, “Back!” For the last couple months I’d been putting Ava down to sleep at night, but in the last week she’s started saying, “Mommy do it.” Which is fine with me; it’s just so amazing to see and hear her express herself this way.
It’s cute now, but I’m certain I’ll find it much less so by the time she’s 13.