Miscellany

Mini-me … Mini-she

July 8, 2004

When you have kids, and while the kids are young, you spend a lot of time wondering what they’ll be like as they get older. And you spend a lot of time hoping that they share what you consider to be your own best traits.

For me, this was especially true with Sean. My first child. My son. Mini-me. I’ve always hoped he’d turn out just like me and have the same personality traits that I like in myself. One of those is that I’m a neat-freak. I like things to be clean — the floors, the carpets, bedrooms, bathrooms … hell, the whole damn house! I like stuff to be clean and neat.

I realized fairly early on that Sean hasn’t (yet) developed my interest in having things neat and clean. He shows no interest in keeping his room clean and organized, for example. Toys are tossed anywhere. Same with shoes, clothes (dirty or clean), and just about everything. Yes, I know he’s only six. But I think I was keeping my room nice and clean by that age.

I’m not at all disappointed that he doesn’t share this trait, only surprised. You assume your son will be just like you. I love, appreciate and respect that he’s his own unique person. I’m just surprised this one thing didn’t get passed down his way.

On the bright side, it appears it may have been passed down to T. She loves to help clean up toys. She started helping me load and unload dishes as soon as she learned what a dishwasher was. And lately, she’s been telling Cari in the morning that she needs to take a shower! Funny girl. Sure, her room’s a mess at the moment, but if you asked her to clean it up, she’d do it and she’d like it. At least someone got one of my best traits.

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