The Mia Bird in My House

"The Voice of Christ: My child this is the way you must speak on every occasion: "Lord if it be pleasing to You, so be it." - Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis

My daughter Trinity Joy loves to talk on the phone. At two and half she is what you would call a chatty Cathy. She can be thoroughly engrossed in a toy or game and not paying any attention to what I am doing until I get on the phone in another room. All of a sudden she is right there beside me asking, "Who is on the phone?" Trying to ignore her inquiries does not work. She is only more insistent on knowing who the person on the end of the phone is. If it is someone that she knows her sweet face breaks into a big smile and she says, "I want to talk to Gramma," or Cheri or any of my other friends that she considers her friends. If I say not right now she will ask, "When?" If I say in a minute she will wait patiently or not so patiently depending on her mood and her ability to listen. The other day she was talking on the phone and I tried to say "Okay it is time to say good-bye". Instead of complying and handing me the phone she ran away. I walked after her and she hid behind the counter, cordless phone still in hand. "No, stop annoying me." she said. Ouch, that hurt. Where would she have heard that? As I thought about it I started to get this sinking feeling that it was probably me. I can make all sorts of excuses like some days I am tired or maybe she misunderstood but the reality is that I am sure I have said it and she listens and repeats what I say. She is constantly learning from me, both the good things and the....well not so good. It was a powerful reminder that I need to always remember that I am influencing her character and in order to do that well I need to be imitating Christ.