My daughter is teaching me to narrate my mistakes instead of blowing past them.
Over the past few weeks she has been repeating every single word I say. My favorites phrases? ""Hey girl!"" ""GO DUKE!"" and ""Tankyouuu"". When my husband noticed, he reminded me of something that stopped me in my tracks: “You are the woman she sees and admires most right now.” And that struck me.
My little parrot is truly absorbing everything. Not just the big moments, but the small ones too.
The other day I was cutting fruit and, as usual, something fell on the floor. I am very clumsy. My daughter said, “Uh oh, oh no,” and I instinctively grabbed it quickly to toss it in the trash. In that moment I realized I was treating the mistake like something to rush past, like it didn’t deserve acknowledgment.
And because, like many millennials, I am always worried that my parenting choices will somehow lead to therapy sessions in the future, I tend to overthink everything.
But last night something different happened. I cut an apple into four pieces and only two made it onto the plate. I yelled, “Oh noooo! Mommy dropped it again. Dang it!” and started laughing.
My son screamed “Oh nooooo!” and put his hands on his face like he was reenacting Home Alone. I lost it laughing. My daughter calmly repeated, “Dang it.” Of course she did.
I picked up the apple, washed it, popped it in my mouth, and kept going about my day. And it made me realize something. I make mistakes all the time at work too. The difference is that in professional spaces we often feel pressure to hide them, soften them, or move past them quickly. But what if the better lesson is simply naming them?
Not dramatically. Not with shame. Just honestly. A mistake happened. Here is what I learned. Let’s keep going. My daughter didn’t just see the mistake. She saw the resolution.
And I hope I never let pride prevent me from sharing my learning gaps out loud. Because perfection isn’t the lesson I want my kids learning from me. Growth is.
Tankkyouuu for coming to my TED Talk.