In all my years of parenting,

(approximately 1.61),

probably the most wisest advice I gave myself was this:

.

Be the kind of person you want your daughter to be. 

.

Be friends with the kind of people you want your daughter to be friends with. 

Eat the kind of food you want your daughter to eat. 

Take care of your body the way you want your daughter to take care of her body. 

Create the kind of marriage you want your daughter to have. 

Manage your money the way you hope your daughter will manage hers. 

Speak to yourself the way you want your daughter to speak to herself. 

Value your work the way you hope people will value her work. 

Read the kind of books you want your daughter to read.

Dress for your life the way you want your daughter to dress for hers.

Be as honorable in carrying responsibilities and as firm in setting boundaries as you want her to be. 

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And then accept that many times, she will grow up and not do those things the way you wanted her to do them.

And that’s okay.

It’s not her job to live life the way you believe is best. It’s her job to live life the way she believes is best.

But at least now she knows, deep down in her childhood bones, she knows

that the way you have lived is possible.