Seeing myself ...

Recently, I finished 2008 pages and moved on to some 2009 stories I wanted to tell. This was a page I've had in my head for awhile. (Pardon the quality of the picture, but you get the idea ...) The journaling was inspired by a blog post, so it may sound familiar.

Some of Milla’s toddler pictures remind me of me. She definitely has Hill baby characteristics that show through, and in this picture from Christmas it’s our cheeks. I’ll take any resemblance to my niece as a compliment.

Then I watched her, and saw myself again. This time she was taking drink orders and helping set the table for dinner. Growing up, those were my jobs.

Think of all the stereotypes you know about first-borns: Bossy. Independent. Organized. Peace-keeper. Responsible. Yep, that's me. Sometimes to a fault.

I would help my mom just like Milla did: set the table, solicit drink orders and assign people seats by placing their drinks. Related to the kitchen, I also put away the groceries, probably because I liked restoring order in small ways.

Watching my 5-year-old niece was like looking into a time-warp mirror. Twice, Milla wanted to set the table and carry people's drinks (for which she solicited orders) to their places. Also, now that she has a younger brother and cousin, she has plenty of opportunities to be the bossy, know-it-all of the group. I'm sure my brother and sister can look at her in those moments and see a less flattering version of me.