We try and instill many things in our children: integrity, manners, ethics, personal responsibility, etc.  That is our job as parents. We do this by not only teaching our children well, but also by role modeling the behavior we expect from them. Ideally, our talk and our walk are the same and children learn more by our example than our words. Someone once said, “Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners.”

I have always tried to walk my talk with my kids.  I am certainly not perfect, but I do try and serve as a role model on many fronts.  You hope your kids will pick up all the best of you and not any of your weaknesses.  Albeit, you never really know until you see it emerge in their behavior.

At this time of year I am acutely reminded of a couple of the things my children have picked up from me – sense of humor and a desire to take things over the top – and I must say, it makes me so proud.

Below is my daughter Sarah with her friend Tiana.  See how cute they are in real life.  The next photo is them in their Halloween costumes.  Sarah is a nerd named Dexter and Tiana is Mama (of Mama’s Family fame).

Note the detail on these photos of Sarah. She always likes to go full out for Halloween – and this outfit is evident of it (right down to the fake teeth with metal braces).  I did always tell her, “If you are going to do something, do it right.”  What can I say – she does not disappoint.

There is one thing though…her nerd name was Dexter, but Saturday Night Live fans tell me if you think she resembles Pat (the ambiguously androgynous character).  Ultimately it matters not the name – she knocked it out of the park again this year and you only have to look at her to know she is one of my kids. 😉

Day four hundred and eighty-one of the new forty-obla di obla da

Ms. C