Aging

"Respect Your Elders". It's a big korean thing based on how much older a person is. This is where I think the more americanized side of me HUGELY disagrees because those words annoy me beyond belief. I don't believe age alone defines a person by any means. You can be 5, 15, or 50 years older, and it does not always mean you are a respectable person. It does not even mean that you're a decent person simply because you are older than another. Does wisdom/knowledge come with age? Most cases, I am sure it does, but what you do with what you have learned in your 10, 20, 30, 40+ years of life is really what counts, does it not? My parents for example. I love and respect my parents. Not because of what they are, but because of who they are and what kind of people they are. My dad, he is my stepfather. Has been so for the last 10 years or so. He is one of the most soft, but well-spoken man I know. He's also kind hearted and is not quick to speak poorly of someone. He will always give someone the benefit of the doubt, even if he is unsure they deserve it because, as he says, "wouldn't you want a second chance?". Everyone is judgmental in their own way. I am quick to voice it and believe it before giving a person the chance to prove me wrong so that is something I very much admire about him. My mother (love her as I may) and I are night and day. We speak differently, have very different ways of life, like different things, we are just different. She is someone most would call eccentric. While I rarely agree with her, I've always had the highest respect for the kind of determination and strength she has that is far uncommon. Almost as though she is a contradiction, she also believes in everyone, she trusts everyone and believes everything in a way that is almost naive (read: infuriating!) and will almost always give you her shirt (literally) off her back if you need it more than she does. Even if that means she has to walk home bare in a snowstorm, but because of it, she is that person that everyone can believe in and can always trust which I do not see much of anymore, if at all. I am blessed to have my parents (yes, they still make me uber crazy). There are also people that are older that are not such great people or those with a mindset that fall far below average (sorry, that wasn't very nice). They know they've been doing the same thing their entire lives, they know it does not work, but they will continue doing the very same thing for the rest of their lives knowing it will fail them, and hoping it will not (I suppose that really is a personal choice). Some have to feel superior, and in order to get there, they have to put you below themselves and will find any way to do so even if it means they have to intentionally hurt you to get there. Some steal, compulsively lie to get what they want, some cheat, etc. You get my drift. All these people can be younger or older. Does that mean because you may be in the "older" category, you still deserve to be respected? I think not. The point of this post is that I hope my daughter will be someone that everyone sees, younger and older, who can say, she is a good person. That she will grow to be a respectable girl, who will grow into a respectable woman despite what age group she may fall into at any given time in her life. For now, she is

busy sleeping off her tummy-time exercises. She is getting better!