Nature vs. Nurture

As Lauren becomes even more herself every day, I've started standing back and wondering where she got some of her personlity traits (okay, quirks) from. Is it a direct genetic link to me that's showing its ugly head or is it from living in proximity to me that's developing these things? You decide:

The Cleaner Upper

The older I've gotten, the more I just want stuff to be in its place. I'm not an OCD neat freak by a long shot, but I believe that everything should have a home in our home and that it should spend the majority of its time there. Of course, I've had to temper that a bit with marrying Jeremy and having Lauren, but overall, I'd say I'm still more interested in having a clean house than most.

That trait does seem to be carrying on to Lauren. She can certainly make a mess with the best of them and really does howl sometimes when it's time to clean up, but if you watch her closely, you'll notice how she likes organizing things and seems to take some happiness from things being neat. This really showed one day when I was watching Hoarders and at the end, the house still wasn't clean. "It's still messy," Lauren said. "There's still boxes." And she was right! Now, has she learned that from me, or is it genetic?

The I-Hate-Mornings Person

I hate mornings. Hate them with a passion. Even if I've gotten 12 hours of sleep, opening my eyes and putting my feet on the floor is painful. Psychically if not physically, anyway. I just hate mornings. No amount of coffee or bluebirds or sunshine can make me happy to be awake. I'm not a night owl either, so I've always chalked it up to just being one of those people that should go into work around 10 am.

As you've seen in my previous posts, Lauren is certainly the same. She just hates being woken up, hates getting dressed, and hates you for doing it to her. I think that there's definitely a possiblity that I just radiate so much negative energy in the morning that she's picking it up, but I do wonder about the genetics of it all.

The Avid Reader

This one is especially pertinent, given that I spent my entire day off today with my nose in a book. I've always loved to read; I love the feeling of being transported to another time and place with a book. I'm currently in two book clubs and read other books as well; I can't get enough. I could do without TV, but never without books.

Ever since Lauren was a little kiddo, she's loved books. We started reading to her almost immediately and for the longest time, we've always read her three stories at night. She carries books everywhere she goes, especially in the car. She can sit for an hour looking at a single book, staring transfixed as if she must remember every detail. Since she doesn't nap anymore, they just give her a stack of books to read and she's as happy as a little clam.

While the two above traits certainly could be explained by her watching me, I think this one is definitely at least partly genetic. She doesn't see me read much, since I do so after she's in bed, though she does see me with books. I think, though, that she just loves the feeling of reading and learning something new. Of course, she can't read the words on the pages yet, but she seems to understand that books bring you to a different world. Wherever she got it, I'm so glad that she loves to read and learn. I just hope that continues!