A special word of thanks to my heroes...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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I remember growing up…when my parents were just getting started and we didn’t really have much…

My mom was a nurse’s assistant; my dad was the manager at a Red Lobster restaurant. When I was born…my dad realized he didn’t want his wife to have to work to support me, and so he got a second job…and enrolled in college a few days later.

Both of my parents came from abusive families…My dad and his younger sister and brother were adopted when my dad was 3…and his newfound family consisted of an alcoholic underachieving father who found wealth off and on but wasted it, and a dominating drunk mother. He tells me stories occasionally when he can…and the fear is still evident in his shaky voice when he remembers some of those years. My mom’s story was a bit easier…but difficult also, she came from a stable family with six siblings…but with a father that did the unthinkable…and a verbally abusive mother.

My dad was the first in his family to finish college…it took him nine years to get to his Masters, and he did it while raising two kids. I gave my parents hell growing up…I griped that I couldn’t wear the “in-fashion” clothes and the best “fad”shoes…and I never got why my parents wouldn’t let me do this or that when all the other kids got too. My parents went to church every Sunday…taught me moral and biblical principles that no one ever showed them…and they taught me the real difference between right and wrong.

My dad never hit me, or my mom, or my brother…even though his dad was one of the most abusive people I’ve ever heard of…He taught me to read and tie my shoes young…and on the few hours of one day he had off when I was a child he would take me to the park or to McDonalds so we could talk kid and dad stuff…

When I was in my teens, things were much better…dad had a great job…he was finally making almost six figures a year…and was able to give his family what they needed…my dad taught me a lot…and so did my mom. They sacrificed everything they could to put me in a private school…they put me in special courses, home schooled me, and helped me when I had questions…

I used to complain that my parents never listened…I thought they were morons…and accused them of not caring about me…I was terrible to my parents….

My mom taught me to be a gentleman…and my dad taught me to be a man…together they taught me to be someone that will go far.

My parents demanded the best from me…encouraged me and pushed me to go farther…always made me realize I could do anything…and even though I thought they were just control freaks, I now realize they were right…
I resented my parents…until I moved out, looked back, and realized I was one of the luckiest people alive!

My parents gave me everything…all that they had. All their love, all their attention, all their ability to give…and now I realize that every time they said no…it really was because they loved me, and every time they made me earn something…they taught me to respect myself and others. Every time they did something I didn’t understand, it really was because they knew best…and now that I’m grown, I only hope I can do half as good as they did when I get my chance.

My parents stayed married, they persevered, they struggled, and they raised a success. They proved that what’s wrong with our society is not guns, violence, or drugs…but the lack of parenting skills of most people…they proved that in me.

They didn’t have a manual or an instruction book…hell, they didn’t even have good examples growing up…but they did their best…they cared…and I’ll never be able to say Thank You how I wish I could…but I’ll do everything I can to show it as long as I still have them here with me.

It’s not Mothers Day or Fathers Day….but you can remember your parents anyway…send them a card…give the a call…and if your parents did wrong to you…fix it by raising kids that will never know how that feels!

Thanks mom…thanks dad…you guys are definitely my heroes!

-SS

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Thank you, Skyslash, for reminding us that we shouldn’t wait until a day on the calendar to thank our parents for everything they have done for us.

I’m calling my mommy tonight!!

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Awwwwww!!! That is so sweet it brought a tear to my eye. Probably because I feel the same way as you do. Sometimes I think “damn I was an awful son, they didnt deserve that” but you’d never know it to hear the way they speak of me. Thanks for the post, and for making me remember my family, I havent seen them for half a year. :frowning: Now I’m all homesick.

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Chalk me up to being in awe of my parents, when my mom was pregant with me, my father was laid off, and had to take a second job, working nights and weekends at the US/Canada Border. Things got so tight that they had to ask my grandparents for money.

When I was 5, we signed up for the WIC program, it provides dairy food and health care to needy families. I was anemic, so I had to get my blood tested once a month. I somehow got confused and though the REASON we got the cheese and milk was because I was GIVING blood, and therefore, I was providing for my family. So I couldn’t complain. This did NOT come from my parents, my mother was horrified when I told her this a couple of years ago.

My parents are my friends, my dad especially is one of my best friends. I can’t go a week without seeing the two of them. There was a period in high school when it was tough (mostly because they over-anticipated the stereotypical rebelious teenager, so they tightened the apron strings a LOT) but I have always liked my parents.

When I was eight, my dad was tucking me into bed. He told me he loved me, and I said “I don’t love you, Dad, I LIKE you.” He looked quite confused and a bit hurt, so I quickly added: “You HAVE to love your family. But you get to choose who you LIKE. And I like you.” I still have a picture book he gave me a few years later, entitled: “I Like You.”

Yea, my parents rock, too. :smiley:

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A very thoughtful post. You will realize even more what your parents have done for you when you have kids of your own. It really hits home then. I don’t have my parents with me any more, except in memories and spirit. My dad died in 1990 and my mom died in 1998. I still miss them every day, not a day goes by that I don’t think of them. I’m very thankful that I had the time with them that I did.
Don’t ever take them for granted. They will be gone one day.

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Swimming now you have to stop that too… I dont want any more of these post while Im at work! I am having to wipe tears from my eyes and I hope no one sees. My God I am more homesick then I thought… its starting to hit me hard now.

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SkySlash, what an awesome thread. Thank you. I no longer have my parents with me, Dad died in Nov '82 and Mom in Jan '88. I have so many memories of them both, it’s hard to know where to start. I will confine myself to only one of each, so I don’t get too weepy and this doesn’t get too long.

I was always Daddy’s little girl. One of my favorite memories is sitting on the floor in front of Dad’s recliner while he brushed my long hair, sometimes for an hour or more while we watched tv. Even into high school, he would do it any time I asked, or he would ask me if I wanted him to. To this day, I love to have someone brush my hair, I can sit still for a very long time for that…

Mom and I had our ups and downs, mostly downs. Yet one of the memories I treasure is when I was married and moved up to Omaha, Ne (Mr Bear was in the AF also) she wanted to keep in touch, and suggested that since we had for years had a tradition that we keep it. The first one of us to see a Robin every spring had to call the other one, and got to be taken out to lunch as a treat for ‘winning’. To this day, every spring, whenever I see a Robin, I want to rush to the phone and call her…

My kids will only know what I tell them of their grandparents, and the pictures I have of them. Never a day goes by that I don’t think about them, and wish they were here to talk to. I hear a song, smell fresh fudge (Daddy made it), or so many other little things, and I’m back in my childhood, laughing with my brothers at something one of them said or did. Call your parents. You never know how much time you may have with them.
I miss you both so much, Momma and Daddio…

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I no longer have my parents. But their imprint is forever in my mind and in my childrens minds. Thanks for the nice thread skyslash!