Our Daughter

     This past weekend we went up north to visit my husbands family.  While on the road I said to Brian, "I hope our daughter is like you."  He responded with something like, "why?" or "what do you mean?"  I told him that I hope she is smart like him, and that he has so many good qualities I would love for her to have.  His next question surprised me.  He asked, "What do you want her to have from you?"  

     I'm not sure why this question surprised me so much.  Maybe because we were talking about him, and if we were talking about me I'd probably want to hear more about me, and not think to change the topic to him.  I don't know, but the question, 'what do I want my daughter to have from me,' was a really hard question.  I answered, "My eyes.  I have my daddy's eyes and I think it would be fun for her to have them too."  

     For my husband, I could come up with a million character traits, in a heartbeat, that I want our daughter to have.  For me, I could only come up with one trait - a physical one.  Eventually I came up with more, that I want her to be outgoing like me and confident enough to dance around and raise her hand in class, but, "I don't want her to be so outgoing where she talks all the time because that's annoying."  

     This simple conversation in the car made me wonder so many things.  Why is it so easy for us to see the good in others and more difficult to see it in ourselves?  Are we really that hard on ourselves or do we just not really think about our own character traits?  It also made me wonder if I came up with a physical trait for me, because I'm a girl.  I know that females are more than just pretty faces, but all of the media we see daily tells us differently.  Has the media affected my thoughts that much, enough to make my first thought of females be of beauty before all of the other things that women are so great at?  So many women have such fantastic inner beauty, which is what really matters!  I am a grown woman, and if I am so affected by what I see on the internet, TV and in magazines, I can't imagine how much it affects young girls!  

     I hope our daughter is smart, and kind.  That she is friendly and good at friendship. I hope she is helpful and happy and full of life.  I hope she is playful and can be herself, not try to be someone else.  I have lots of high hopes for our daughter, but most of all I hope she knows how much she is loved, and that she is loved for her inner beauty not just whats on the outside.