Is it just me?

Is it just me, or does every mother look at their child and picture them in future events? I don't mean the obvious ones like first day of school, graduation, or their wedding, but things like holding her hand and wondering what rings will adorn her fingers? Or holding her tiny feet and wondering will there be mostly tennis shoes or cute sandals on them? Will she have lots of friends like her daddy or will she be a lonely bookworm like her mommy? I sometimes feel guilty that I don't remember having these thoughts with my boys, but maybe I did. Or maybe I was just too overwhelmed with worrying about them getting sick at first and then later just being too busy with them to think of anything other than the moment. But with Ava I find myself just staring at her, wondering all these things and more, waiting patiently for things to happen.
And does everyone go through that internal conflict of wanting their child to advance to their next trick, saying, "I can't wait till she does this" or "I can't wait till she does that" but then the next day when you notice she has changed you think, "NO! You're growing too fast! I'm missing it!"
I had another perplexing thought the other day. In my observation, I have come to realize every generation mimics some of their parents traits, but also chooses to be different or sometimes the complete opposite of their parents in other ways. Now, how do I use this information to steer my child into being a good person or a better person than I am? Do I just be myself, all the time wondering what she will choose to follow? Worried that she will choose all the wrong things? Or do I become this horrible, chain-smoking, vindictive, neurotic, alcohol-abusing, narcissistic, guilt-spewing, self-loathing, depressed trucker-mouth of a role model just so she won't be any of those things?
Seriously though, I have never felt more pressure to be a role model than I do now. With the boys I try to show them how to be good people, to be polite and respectful and the importance of being clean. But with them I feel like I show them what kind of girl they should look for in a mate rather that what kind of person to be. That's more their dad's job. Not that any of them are at that stage yet, but these things take time, thankfully, and I just hope we're doing it right.
So much of my mother is now becoming crystal clear to me. So if I haven't said it enough, or ever, Thanks mom. I get it now. I love you.