Drive My Car

The other day I watched my two year old Megan climb into the frontseat of my Jeep.  She wanted to drive, which is totally fine by me because she's the best.  So I was watching her get ready to drive.  She did exactly what I always do.  She got in, tried putting on her seatbelt, asked for my phone to plug into the charger, and last but not least messed with the dials.  And then she was ready.  At this point I step in and put her on my lap so she can actually drive.  She was so excited.  I let her go up the street and then back into the garage.  I won't lie, it was a proud moment.  Driving a Jeep is like a right of passage in our family.  My dad was Tom Hammock after all.

Now fast forward a few hours.

It's after bathtime and Megan is asking for the hair dryer.  I stood there wondering, "Why does she want me to dry her hair all of a sudden?"  It's only started happening the last month or so that she even wants her hair blow dried.  I'm still standing there thinking, "I've never even tried to dry her hair.  Where did this come from?"  And then it hit me.  She sees me dry my hair after I wash it in the shower. 

She's trying to be like me.

This child looks nothing like me, yet acts exactly like me.  She's watching everything I do and is soaking it in like a little sponge.  Realizing that this week made me stop and think about the kind of example I'm setting for her.  It was incredibly sobering.  Am I setting an example of who I want her to be?  Right now, it's just little things like putting on a seatbelt, later it's going to be big things.  When that day comes I want to know that I've set the best example for her that I could. 

And here's the goal:

My child, listen when your father corrects you.
Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
 What you learn from them will crown you with grace
and be a chain of honor around your neck.

Proverbs 1:8-9

Yes, it's directed to the the child, but the parent needs to pay attention.  Fathers (or single moms), are you correcting?  Mother's (or single dads) are you instructing?  You are instructing if you're living.  As parents we teach our children how to live simply by doing it.  My dad never sat me down and said, "Now Sis, this is how you raise a child as a single parent."  He just did it.  I watched him live his life and learned how to live mine.  Yes, he made mistakes just like I have and will continue to do, but even through the mistakes he taught me how to live.  Parents do that.  I'm doing that right now with my little girls.  So I ask myself, am I teaching them things that will bring what these verses talk about? 

They're watching and learning even if I'm not.