Habits

Lately, I've been thinking about my mom pretty often. I miss her so much, especially now that I am about to have a daughter on my own. I wish that I could ask her all the questions that I never thought to when she was still alive.

Most of my thoughts have centered on things she taught me when I was growing up, especially the habits that she passed on without meaning to or even being aware of it probably. They are mostly little things, like she never used wooden spoons. I've never really used them either. I'm sure that wasn't a conscious decision on her part, just a preference that she passed on.

Some other habits that I picked up from my mom:

1. Cluttered tables in the living room are the worst. Everything can be messy and it's fine, but a cluttered table makes me feel like the whole room is disgusting. 
2. It's better to keep soda in the fridge so you don't have to use much ice when you drink it. 
3. There has to be a napkin of some sort with every meal or snack. 
4. Candles are appropriate for everyday use. 
5. Colgate toothpaste is better than all the other brands. 
6. Things just aren't as clean if the cleaner you are using isn't lemon scented. 

See? They are mostly all just silly, little things. I'm sure there are still some things I do that I don't even realize are learned behaviors until someone asks why. I never noticed all the little learned habits until D and I started living together. There were a lot of debates between us about the right way to do things and the basic answer for both of us much of the time was "well, that's way my parents did it". 

It makes me want to be much more aware of all of my behaviors, especially since I am days away from having a baby. I only want Eleanor to pick up the best habits from D and I. I don't want to unintentionally be setting a bad example for her. It's weird to think that there is going to be this little person that I have such a huge impact on, even when I'm not actively trying to. It definitely makes me want to clean up my act some.