My Parents

Growing up my view of my parents has changed with the seasons of my life.  As a youngster my parents were super heroes.  My father seemed so tall and strong and my mother so creative and smart.  As the teenage years approached I wanted nothing to do with my parents.  My bubble was burst and I found flaws, disappointments, and mistakes.  During young adulthood I don't think I had an opinion on my parents.  I was too busy out in the world to think much about parenthood.  Now that (OMG is it true?) that I am an adult and preparing myself (God willing) for parenthood in the next few years, I think a lot about my parents.  

There are so many things that my parents have done with me that I hope to do with my children (God willing) someday.   For example, on the first cold and rainy day of winter my mother would keep us kids home from school to make homemade chocolate chip cookies.  She would even let us lick the beaters from the mixer!  And I remember my father giving responsibilities which made me feel grown up, like tightening the screws on certain parts he was making or taking me with him to work on the restoration of an antique plane.  

I was reminded, by having my parents stay with me this past week, of how much our parents have done for us.  Our parents spent countless moments wishing for us before we existed.  Once we were conceived, our parents tirelessly prepared for us.  At our birth, our parents spent hours fussing over the smallest decision; were we eating enough, were we too hot/cold, did we need a change of diaper?  Our parents gave hours of their day to entertain us and teach us as we grew.  Eventually our parents labored for days to pay for our teenage necessities (particular brands of clothes and shoes, riding lessons, vacations). And after all of this, our parents spent never ending moments watching us walk away, move away, watching us extract ourselves from them.  

It is no wonder that we are commanded to be respectful, kind, and dutiful to our parents.  It was a pleasure to serve my parents for a week in return for the many years they spent serving me.  God willing, I will soon have the opportunity to serve them again.