She's Always Watching

In so many ways, my children make me want to be a better person. Of course I want to be a good mother.  I try so hard to say the right things and explain things fully in 4 year old speak, when Charli asks questions.  She says she wants to understand everything, and who am I to say she can't.  I try to help her navigate the world, but not too much.  I try to have the healthiest foods in the house and have the family eat them together.  I try to mean what I say and follow through on promises (and threats).  But, it goes deeper than that and sometimes it amazes me how much she is watching, paying attention, and learning from my every move.  Just this morning, I came in from a run and I am kneeling next to the shelf where we place our shoes when we enter the house.  I see in Charlotte's little shoes, her socks.  Each one in a ball in a pair of her shoes.  This is not something she does usually, and this is not something we usually do as a family.  Shoes go by the door and socks go in the hamper.  But, I realize that her shoes were next to my sneakers this morning.  I had placed my socks in my sneaks last night in anticipation for my run this morning.  (I have to get ready in the living room, but that is another topic about light sleeping children.)  Anyway, it hits me how much she is watching me when I am not paying attention.  It is yet another wake up call, that I need to be the best person I can be, so I can help my children be the best people they can be.  No pressure.