I have been thinking about all the traditions and memories David and I will make with Addison once she arrives and every single thought makes my heart want to pop with excitement.
I have a few things that I've dreamed about for years...like tucking her in bed each night and making sure she knows that we love her more than the world, having a Mother-Daughter date to see the Nutcracker each Christmas, carving a pumpkin at Halloween and dipping Easter eggs in dye, and spending countless summer days in the pool, on a boat, or at the beach.
All of these ideas got me thinking about the traditions my parents created with me. But more importantly, the memories that I have of our times together and the special things they've taught me throughout my life. Here are just a few that I can think of right now...
When I would get frustrated with the world or people in my life, my dad would ALWAYS tell me..."It takes ALL kinds to make the world go 'round." Although I dreaded hearing this statement from him (especially when someone hurt my feelings or I had a bad break-up), I know it's true and I now accept the fact that God created us differently for a reason...we all have different views/perspectivies, unique characteristics, and a variety of backgrounds and experiences.
2. One of our Christmas family traditions is to ride around town all together to look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. We usually take a big truck and ride around with blankets and hot chocolate and admire all the outside decor our neighbors have displayed. Then we come home and play a competitive board game of some sort (and when I say competitive, I mean COMPETITIVE). Good times!
3. My mom always taught me to NEVER lift my eyebrows while putting on mascara...she said, "it causes wrinkles on your forehead." I know this is a silly one, but I honestly think of my mom every.single.morning when I tilt my head back (instead of raising my eyebrows) and apply my mascara. And you know, mom knows best, because I'm proud to say, there are NO wrinkles on this 39 year old's forehead :)
4. You can always "take one more step." This was a constant phrase my dad would tell me when I played softball growing up. And although he intended it to mean that I literally could have caught the ball if I would have taken one more step, I have used this phrase in MANY areas of my life.
5. I can honestly NOT think of any event that I did growing up or as an adult that my parents weren't proudly sitting in the audience. From twirling as a child, to dancing in high school, to playing in softball tournaments all over the United States, to my first school performance as an assistant principal...my parents were always there to support me.
6. Helpful hint from MoM...make sure your baseboards are always clean, especially in the bathroom. The bathroom is the one place that your houseguests have time to sit (without an audience) and can observe how clean you really are. This one makes me laugh out loud, but I can honestly say I probably have the cleanest bathroom baseboards in Florida!
7. Love notes were (and still are) definitely my family's love language. I would get the sweetest notes on my napkins in my sack lunches from dad or find a hand written message on the paper on the coathanger when mom would organize my weekly football dance costume in high school. I still get special messages from them from time to time, although now they mostly come in the form of text messages or emails...regardless, every single one is special to me.
8. Another biggie for me was being careful with who you trusted with secrets. My mom always told me growing up that she was the only person I could trust with my biggest, deepest, darkest secret and know for CERTAIN that it would never be shared with anyone. Now that I'm older, my list of those I can trust has expanded (well, by two people...my husband and my best friend), but she was right and I know still today that I can share anything with her and feel comfortable knowing that she would go to the grave with my secret before sharing it with anyone.
I know this is a long post, but I wanted Addison to know just how MUCH David and I are looking forward to starting special family traditions and creating memories with her when she gets here. I just pray that we will be the best parents and role models for our baby girl. And I look forward to the day when she can look back on her life and appreciate all the things we did as a family together and hear about the things she learned from us.
