For the love of Morgan

Morgan is at the age where she can remember her childhood.

She is also at the age where I find myself doing things to her that I always disliked my parents doing to me. And I'm truly afraid she will pass on these idiosyncrasies:

1. Licking her ice cream cone so it would stop dripping.
I did manage to convince Morgan that we were a "team" and that I needed to "clean up" her ice cream cone. I do recall my parents doing exactly the same maneuver, gobbling up the lions share of my cold treat.

2. Wetting a napkin with my own saliva in order to wipe something sticky from her face.
Ewww and double ewwww.
Question: Why do I do this?
Answer: Because the child is sticky and needs to be cleaned.
Question: Isn't that making her more dirty?
Answer: Shush.

3. Shushing.
Parents never stop talking. They talk and talk and talk. Rarely do they stop and say, "And what do you think Georgie?" Instead, they encourage children to stick something in their mouth or watch TV so they can finish their conversation. Hello, childhood obesity. All due to the "shush".

4. Referring to the spouse as "Daddy" or "Mommy" instead of their name.
Okay, this is just creepy. Dan and I swore we wouldn't do this. We'll be talking to each other in front of Morgan and actually call each other "Daddy" or "Mommy". And then we feel really dirty.

So there you have it. The confessions of a mother who promised herself that she would "never" and finds herself "always" doing these maternal curiosities.

Oh, for the love of Morgan.