Monday, April 04, 2011

Lessons for Lyla

My little girl is the light of my life.  I want so much for her.  I was lucky enough to have wonderful parents who raised me well and I can only hope I do the same for Lyla.  She deserves to learn, to be loved, and to grow up a good person.  That is down to me and the husband.  Lately, I've been thinking of this thing called responsibility and how I am responsible for Lyla in every way. From her actions to her thoughts, and her morals and values.  It's so important to me that she leaves a positive energy to all that she encounters.  

I have been writing letters to Lyla since I peed on a stick and this is one of them.  Here are some lessons I want to teach my daughter and some values that I hold dear to my heart.

Colors
Colors are just that; different hues of the rainbow.  But I'm not just interested in teaching Lyla red from blue but I want her to know that a color is just a color.  If you are wearing a pink sweater, you are no better than someone in a red sweater.  But more importantly if your skin is a different color than someone else's that doesn't matter.  I have always felt the color of someone's skin does not define them.  But what does is their personality and their kindness.  I don't ever want Lyla looking at a person and judging them by the color of their skin.  I want her to really feel that she is no different from any other little girl all colors included.  Every one deserves the benefit of doubt and should not be stereotyped.  To me there is no race, just racists. 

Consideration
It is so important to learn how to be considerate and I feel so many people these days just skip over this value.  Before you do or say anything, I believe you should always put your feet in another person's shoes.  For every action there is an equal reaction. Think about it because it's true.  The world is full of selfish people but don't conform and be one of them.  Be true to yourself and always think of others.  As my mom always said, do onto others as you'd want done to you.  And when all else fails, kill them with kindness; another mom saying.  Let's face it, you can never be too kind.

Responsibility
For yourself and your actions, you must be responsible.  I will teach Lyla that if you hurt someone's feelings, you are responsible to make it right. If you're pregnant at 16 (heaven forbid!), you must be responsible to do the right thing.  If you get into debt, you are responsible to pay up.  Don't ever want her to think someone else is going to bail you out.

Respect
Not only others but you must respect yourself.  I want Lyla to respect her elders and be polite. I want her to hold herself to high standards as well.  There will be no belittling of herself, no low self esteem, but she will embrace who she is and always respect the morals and values she was taught.  Every one deserves respect; all the time.  Show respect and earn respect.

Love
Most importantly I want to teach Lyla to love and be loved.  To me, I totally agree that "all you need is love." Some may say I'm a dreamer, but it's true.  (and I do love the Beatles as you can tell).  If you know how to love someone with all your heart, can accept love and embrace it, then you have it all.  It doesn't matter if you are poor, unhealthy, a celebrity, or even the president, love is the key to happiness in my eyes.  That is why I will love Lyla to pieces. I will show her love and tell her I love her nonstop for her whole life. That way I can be sure she will always know.

Finally, I will also teach Lyla the lyrics to this song; in particular the chorus because in life, it is so true.



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