I Hope...

As I have stated before, having a daughter has completely changed my life. Since day one people have continually asked the question...'who does she look like?' Well...we have found that it really just depends on who you ask. If you ask Melissa's side of the family, she is a spitting image of Melissa. If you ask my side, she looks like me. But, I chalk both of those up to the fact that each side of the family has only watched one of us grow up. So...for a decision we must resort to the parents...that being us. And we say, she does not look like either of us. She is Magdalene Rae Johnson. Thank God she is not just like either of us. She is completely her own person and I praise God for that every day. She does not look like one of us in particular and she does not act like one of us in particular. She is a beautiful blend of both Melissa and myself.

With all of these questions, however, I have been compelled to think about who she is like (which there is little conclusion on anything about her) and who she will be like in the future. So, I have compiled a short list of what characteristics of us that I hope she picks up.


When she is challenged, I hope she fights like me.
When she is happy, I hope she laughs like mom.

At day, I hope she plays like me.
At night, I hope she sleeps like mom.

When it storms, I hope she is in awe like me.
When it snows on Christmas, I hope she rejoices like mom.

I hope she thinks about her beliefs like me.
I hope she holds to them like mom.

I hope she cheers for her team like me.
I hope she can let go like mom.

I hope she is emotional like me.
I hope she is strong like mom.

I hope she is encouraging like me.
I hope she cares for her loved ones like mom.

I hope she is proud of being American like me.
I hope she is proud of her ancestry like mom.

I hope she runs like me.
I hope she swims like mom.

I hope she hugs like me.
I hope she hugs like mom.

I hope she learns from her mistakes like me.
I hope she avoids mistakes like mom.

I hope she finds someone who loves her like me.
I hope she loves him like I am by her mom.

I hope she leads like me.
I hope she follows like mom.

I hope she stays up like me.
I hope she wakes up like mom.

I hope she forgives like me.
I hope she loves like mom.

But, most importantly, I hope when people look at her they don't see me or her mom...but Christ.