More on gratitude…
Occasionally I am hit with the realization that I sound remarkably like one of my parents. Part of me cringes a little, and the other part of me thinks “Wow, they really taught me this.” If I explore this further then memories come flooding back and I remember how I felt back then. I remember feeling like I knew that they were crazy. Sometimes, I feel really happy that they stuck with some of the lessons they wanted to teach me. There were some principles that they felt they needed to instill in me, and however stubborn I was at the time, and however hopeless it must’ve seemed, it worked. Many of the important things just… stuck. I started to grow out of my adolescent self-absorption and found myself making sense of what I thought were arbitrary displays of parental dominance. So, while I don’t necessarily agree with everything they did, I am occasionally hit with some gratitude for my parents and what they taught me. I find that in some ways I’m just better off than I would’ve been if I hadn’t been pushed in a direction I didn’t like, and that it didn’t necessarily need to make sense at the time.
I am interested in anyone else’s experience with this. It doesn’t have to be your parents, but I’m sure we’ve all found ourselves on the other end like this. Tell me what you’ve learned!
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Pretty much every single lesson my parents taught me growing up has ended up being true. It’s funny though how when you’re young you feel like they are over bearing and controlling. You realize as you become an adult that they were trying to prepare, and protect you. (In my experience, I know this doesn’t go for everybody.) These are some of the lessons I wish I had learned when I was young:
Do your homework
Clean your room
Don’t stay home sick from school today
Admit when you’re wrong, and apologize
Don’t hold grudges
Don’t bite your nails
Don’t pick at that pimple
And there are many, many more. I see what you’re saying though, about suddenly realizing you are an adult, and that your parents are just people doing their best.
That last sentence sums it up for me! I think maybe I’m thinking so much about them because I’m about to BE them…
And you and Jeff will be wonderful parents!