No!

This is the week that Brodie has found his opinionated voice. It's an emphatic No! sometimes with a pointed finger. The first time it was hard not to laugh, the second time was still a little funny, and not so funny each time after that. It's very unnerving to hear your words and tone come out of a child's mouth. It really hits home that what you say and how you say it has impact each and every time. Sometimes this really scares me  how we can mold our children for better or worse. We've all heard how to model good behavior and that children are a sponge...watch what you say but it doesn't really click until you see your child do something you do on a daily basis.

Each parent, in my humble opinion, wants their child to receive the best in ourselves such as maybe our eye color or your spouse's hair texture, but what if it's not the best? This can sometimes bring about change in our habits. I'm going to eat more vegetables and watch less tv. Or in my case, a minor freak out occurs. What if he's introverted? What if she has my thighs? What if she's overly sensitive?

When I was pregnant with Brodie we saw a genetic counselor because some testing came back with an elevated chance of spina bifida. Everything was ok, but before you have more tests, you and your spouse/partner sit through a session where they tell you about everything that could possibly be wrong. While we were in this session, I was just trying to keep it together and get to the end so I could leave that impossibly small, stuffy office and go back to the waiting room. I was trying not to dwell on all those medical conditions that might affect the tiny human growing inside of me. That something in my genetic code was defective and passed on to this boy who had no name yet and it is mentioned that you may have a decision to make to end the pregnancy or carry to term. Thankfully, we did not have to make that decision. We have birthed two healthy children and in retrospect it's selfish to think of the other traits we may be passing on but at the same time, it is overwhelming that this child's behavior ultimately rests on your shoulders.

So, for the moment, I will take a deep breath, not freak out and say to Brodie..."say no thank you"