Looking into the bottom of the second bag of popcorn I have burned today.. feeling a little sick and remembering my mothers words... "there are people in third world countries starving and you are not going to waste that" The first bag was just too far gone to eat..Ohh the guilt (sorry mom)!
It amazes me that those words stuck so deeply that it would affect my day to day life, even nearing 40.
It got me thinking... I wonder if we as parents take into consideration the impact our words and actions have on our children.
Most parents are appauled when we see the news and hear of a parent abusing their child. We cringe when we here them call them names.. or tell them to shut up. But do we really take into consideration that everything they see impacts them later in life?
Mom gets slapped by dad.. she makes an excuse.. "he didn't mean it".
Dad comes home late from work smelling like perfume and alcohol. Mom is crying .. nothing is said but they know.
They always know.. maybe not the details, but they know something is not right, and we are supposed to be able to fix it.
I still remember getting ready to tell my then 10 year old son that his dad wasn't coming home from the hospital... but before I ever uttered a word I looked down at his usually smiling, big brown eyes and knew that he already knew.. they were pleading with me.. no.. screaming at me to fix it .. but I couldn't.. I sat there helpless... speechless..
I guess my point is ... in our childrens eyes we are everything.. their world starts and ends with us.. It is our obligation to teach them through who we are. Because eventually and inevitably it will either be who they are or who they hate.. but it will stay with them for a lifetime.
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