She Nailed It; Maybe for Me
To use her words, Cici has always eaten her nails. Ping decided to help her break that habit shortly before they came to America. The plan was to use acrylic nails to cover the real nails so she couldn't chew on the real nails. The plan just didn't work out the way the girls intended it to work. Cici continued to eat her nails.
During the summer while Ping was gone I would periodically ask Cici how she was doing with her nails. I told her that my son used to bit his nails, but he had broken the habit. I encouraged her that she could also break the habit if she wanted to do it, but I didn't nag her about it. When she made a little progress I would praise her and encourage her.
This past weekend Cici showed me her hands. Look at my nails, Papa. All the nails looked perfect, so I assumed they were acrylic nails. Oh, I see you put on some new nails, I said. No Papa, these are my nails, she said. I still didn't believe her and teased her about it. Suddenly I saw a hurt look in her eyes and I stopped teasing. Cici, are these really your nails, I asked? Yes, Papa, she said with pride in her eyes. I took one of her hands in mine and touched the nails, admiring them. Cici, I am so proud of you!
But that is only one bad habit that Cici broke since arriving here. In China, and for the first year in America, Ping was constantly reminding Cici to not slump her shoulders. Straight! Was the word we heard often in our home. This was Ping's way of correcting Cici's posture. She asked me to do the same thing, but I took a more subtle approach. I just talked with Cici about the long term ramifications of a poor posture, and talked about why Mama was always reminding her to sit straight. Then last summer while Ping was in China I didn't mention it once to Cici, though I did praise her posture a few times because I thought it had improved.
After Ping returned from China, I noticed that we were no longer hearing Straight! Not even once. It wasn't necessary, because Cici had corrected the problem on her own initiative.
Now if I could just correct all of my bad habits!
During the summer while Ping was gone I would periodically ask Cici how she was doing with her nails. I told her that my son used to bit his nails, but he had broken the habit. I encouraged her that she could also break the habit if she wanted to do it, but I didn't nag her about it. When she made a little progress I would praise her and encourage her.
This past weekend Cici showed me her hands. Look at my nails, Papa. All the nails looked perfect, so I assumed they were acrylic nails. Oh, I see you put on some new nails, I said. No Papa, these are my nails, she said. I still didn't believe her and teased her about it. Suddenly I saw a hurt look in her eyes and I stopped teasing. Cici, are these really your nails, I asked? Yes, Papa, she said with pride in her eyes. I took one of her hands in mine and touched the nails, admiring them. Cici, I am so proud of you!
But that is only one bad habit that Cici broke since arriving here. In China, and for the first year in America, Ping was constantly reminding Cici to not slump her shoulders. Straight! Was the word we heard often in our home. This was Ping's way of correcting Cici's posture. She asked me to do the same thing, but I took a more subtle approach. I just talked with Cici about the long term ramifications of a poor posture, and talked about why Mama was always reminding her to sit straight. Then last summer while Ping was in China I didn't mention it once to Cici, though I did praise her posture a few times because I thought it had improved.
After Ping returned from China, I noticed that we were no longer hearing Straight! Not even once. It wasn't necessary, because Cici had corrected the problem on her own initiative.
Now if I could just correct all of my bad habits!
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