And they heard the echoes of their mothers

I remember those time before I was a mother, and I would be out in public, and see a parent scolding or teaching their child, saying things like "You can't bite your sister, it hurts your sister when you bite her." and would think "I wonder if they know how stupid they sound? I am never going to say anything that dumb." Never say never. :)

Or as you were growing up and your mother would say something that seemed too unfair or too demanding and you thought "I won't be like that when I am a mom, when I am a mom I will be fair."

Then I became a parent "Dun, Dun, Dun!"....

I remember when my son was 3 years old he started to point and shake his finger when he was mad, like if I did something he didn't like then he would point and cry and say "NO!....NO!" I remember thinking "Where did he learn that? I don't do that; do I? I hated it when my parents did that. I told myself I would never do that." So I paid attention. Uh, yeah, I did that, and I did that a lot!

My mother told me about a time when I was four years old. I lined up all of my stuffed animals on my bed and proceeded to get them in trouble. She watched me from the hall and thought "Is that how I sound?" Twenty something years later I watched my 2 year old do the same thing and had the same thought.

Watching my children on the phone is the most comical thing ever. I am pretty sure I don't sound like that, unless I was pretending I was on the phone because a little one came up to me telling me her imaginary friend was on the phone. I guess that's what they copy, it's way more fun.

Kids are like a great big mirror where you can see all of yourself. The good, the bad, the ugly. The good news is my kids also mimic the good things I do, like the way I say "Awww! You look beautiful" when I see my two year old changed dresses for the third time and has come up to show me. They mimic the way I bandage an owie, or the way I comfort a sad child. My girls mimic the way I do my hair or the way I get dressed. My son repeats almost everything I say, with NO filter, not realizing that not everything in our home needs to be publicized. He even goes as far as to lecture his dad if his dad is not doing things the way my son is used to seeing them done.

Children teach us to look inward, to readjust and even at times they teach us that everything is okay just the way it is. Yesterday I had my  hair up half way as I was straightening the bottom layers, my two year old daughter said "Mommy I like your hair." I told her thank you.

As I hear my mother in my voice and my words and as I hear my children repeating my words, my significance in this world is much clearer. The significance of mothers is much clearer. I made the accidental mistake of telling my husband I looked (or felt) fat in front of my 5 year old daughter and I heard her blurt out "You are not fat!" as she touched my stomach as if to soothe the wound I just gave it. Having 3 daughters I felt it was very important to be careful what I said about my body in front of them and to exclude any negative talk about my body at all, I want them to have healthy body images. As you can see I am still working on it. :)

As the echoes of my parents ring in my head, I am reverenced for the small, daily things of this world. The power of words, and the power of actions. I hope that my intentions will come through in my echoes but that's quite a risk to take, and so I change, I adjust, I explain and I ask forgiveness, every day and I will continue to do so.  So that my echo may be an echo for good, just as with the stripling warriors....Alma 56:46-48

Fyi...It turns out that I am just as "stupid" as the stranger out in public teaching her child and I am just as "unfair and demanding" as my mother. I choose to allow myself to say the "stupid" (or obvious) things to my two year old because they are not obvious to her and I choose to be what seems unfair or demanding to my children, all for my children's sake.