Perfect parent, where are you?

When I think about Moms and Dads and childhoods, It reminds me of the "Is your glass half empty, or half full" analogy. There was a time before I became a parent, that I wondered why my parents did things the way they did. But through the recent years of raising children, I have learned to cherish my parents more and understand why and how it is truly impossible to parent perfectly. I also worry too much, and therefore think to myself that today could be my last day talking to them, or saying "I love you." My parents made mistakes, as all parents do but they taught me values. They taught me hard work. They taught me to love myself and others. They did little things too. My siblings and I always laugh because one of our "traditions" as children was that my mom would take us every single day to the convenient store and buy us a candy bar. And even though it wasn't the most healthy tradition in the world, it is one I will forever cherish. I will always cherish my dad making up his own goofy words to familiar tunes. Or hugging us. He always hugged us and told us he loved us. He was very affectionate. And my mom...she showed us she loved us by being with us. Staying up late and watching movies with us...scary ones! She too told us she loved us despite the fact that she was raised in a home where these words were rare. She picked up the slack all those years when my dad traveled and couldn't be around as much as he wanted to be. I have had those times where I'm angry and frustrated that my parents did things differently than I thought they should have, but I have come to the conclusion that life is too hard and too short to do anything but tell the ones we love that we love them, completely, unequivocally and unconditionally.

Okay, enough of the sappy babbling. I love the pic of my mom below trying on the gift from my dad. This picture is so cute and illustrates her funny cute personality. She reminds me so much of a little girl in a woman's body. :)