Parents.

… It’s about the children, not about you. Often, parents project their own dramas and issues on their kids and this puts a lot of undue pressure on them. Our kids are not there to raise us and take care of us. As much as possible, we should not burden them with our own problems. We are there to parent, not be parented…

Steve and I often talk about how we envision parenting… having discussions about parenting dos and don’ts and what we think we would do in certain situations. We often look at our experiences with our own parents and what we would want to follow and what we would want to do differently.

It’s not to say that I think my parents are awful. On the contrary I have really awesome parents. I have a lot of respect for them and there are a lot of things I would also want to follow when I have my own kids. But my parents aren’t perfect either. They also have flaws and sometimes they make decisions that I don’t necessarily agree with. Often I am in awe of their wisdom and love and then there are times when I think they’re being irrational or irresponsible or sometimes even childish. But their flaws do not by any means diminish or affect how much I love them. I get frustrated, upset and disappointed too but I think every child feels that way about their parents once in awhile.

I don’t think… I KNOW how much my parents love me and my brothers. It is evident in everything they do. Safe to say, their world revolves around us three kids. When I reflect on the many sacrifices our parents have endured for our sake, I am left feeling overwhelmed and sometimes embarrassed that I am not always able to return the favor.

Needless to say, I am very blessed to have such loving parents. Even when I don't always understand their reasons for the things they do, I trust that they are doing the best they can and with our welfare in mind.

I can only hope that others are as fortunate as me and if not, I hope that we all strive to become good parents someday to our own children.