What My 2-Year Old Taught Me Today..

Two words: a lot. But it's how she taught me that's worth the words tonight.

She taught me that she picks up the good things that she sees in her mother and me, and the not so good as well. Now, while I'm not going to speak for her mother, I am going to speak for myself, so have some fun with these, folks.

Today, Malia taught me:

1) To continue to read to her--because she's picking up more than just the words. And, I have proof on my Facebook page. For those of you who saw it, I took an iPhone picture of her reading a book to her favorite doll Mary and I call her "baby". It made me melt.

2) To not have her do the "pull my finger" trick any more. Tried it after dinner tonight, and the three other adults all told her not to (and rightfully so), and she's starting to roll her eyes at me like the other adults do. Makes me wonder who needs to grow up more (as it does Mary).

3) Live with wonder. Malia's truly innocent and totally honest--as are most 2-year olds. Each new situation to her is met with a wide variety of emotions: fear, curiosity, and in Malia's case, some reservation. That's her personality. But she's taking some cues from Mary and me, and I hope she picks up my sense of wonder of the unknown--even though I have admittedly lost some of mine in some of the battles I've fought over the years. She's teaching me to embrace the wonder of the greatest gift God gave us (0ther than the grace of Jesus), and that gift is life!

4) Take a "spork" with us everywhere we go. Adult forks are just too big, and she drops them like a retiree in Vegas drops coins in the nickel slots. Sporks? Not so much. Pack 'em.

5) Play--but focus. Malia is such a serious child--we could hardly get her to smile until just the last couple of months. She's also very stubborn and strong-willed, and both Mary and I can see both of those personality traits even when she plays. In the adult world, I think we can call that, "Take what you do seriously, but don't take yourself so seriously." Believe it or not, that's the way I view sports--even though, until recently, sports being my bread & butter. On the grand scheme of things, pro and college athletes do great things, and sportscasters cover those great things, but none of us is curing cancer. When it call comes down to it, it's just a game. And each day, a 2-year old who's totally dependent on me and her mother, reminds me of that.

So, I've learned a lot today. Thank you Malia. Now, learn something from Daddy, and try to sleep through the night, will ya? And you can even snore if you want to!