my parents' daughter

recently - and especially since becoming a parent - i've been thinking a lot about what values, opinions, and habits you adopt from your parents when you become an adult. of course you want your own child to feel exactly the same way you do about things and make the choices you would make, but that's not realistic (or even for the best, in every situation). i thought it would be fun to share some of the things i do/say/think because of the way my parents raised me....and some of the things i do/say/think that i adopted on my own (some of which i'm sure my parents think i'm crazy for - ha).

things my parents taught or showed me that i've continued into adulthood: 

i always pay my credit card, in full, on time every month. no acceptions! 

i always return library books and movies on time to avoid late fees.

i always eat breakfast. mostly because if i wait too long (an hour or so after getting up), i start to feel nauseous. 

i'm a frugal shopper - i rarely buy things (clothes, home decor etc) at full price

i work to live, not live to work

i vote democrat (i'm a bit more liberal than my parents, but i think part of that is the generation i grew up in) 

i always keep on top of dental and doctor check ups  

i value the experience of travel and want to show my kids the world 

i want my kids to go to minneapolis public schools with kids from all different walks of life - because that is the real world 

i never let my gas tank go below 1/4

i rarely go to chain restaurants (with the exception of a few quick casual places with the kids)

things i do that my parents don't do (or didn't do when i was growing up): 

i frequent coffee shops 

i buy organic meat, dairy, and produce (not always, but most of the time) 

i never pay attention to gas prices (i figure if i need gas, i need it, and i'm not gonna obsess over finding the cheapest gas station) 

i love thai food and indian food (we only did chinese/pizza/greek when i was growing up) 

i wear make up (my mom never has, i just taught myself) 

i display a lot of photos around the house (my mom had a couple out here or there, but i have tons)

i re-use my towel for 2-3 days for drying off after showers. for some reason my parents always took a new towel after bathing. i think my mom has an aversion to wet towels hanging in the bathroom? i did it too growing up, but once i was out on my own doing my own laundry....? nope! haha 

i eat dessert every night (sometimes twice a day, let's be honest!). my mom often told us "we don't need dessert every night" or "have some fruit" haha

i get ridiculously excited for christmas. don't get me wrong, i have fond memories of christmas growing up and my parents always made it special for us, but neither of them are that into baking cookies, listening to christmas music non-stop, etc. i pretty much start gearing up after labor day ;) 

i love social media - granted this wasn't around when i was growing up, but i feel like a lot of people's parents have jumped on the facebook (etc) band wagon and mine so have not. which is fine. ha.

this makes me wonder what things my kids will and won't adopt from thatcher and i when they are grown :) what about you? what sorts of things do you do (or not do) as a result of your parents' persuasion? i wanna hear!