Me: Hey, I’m gonna run ahead to the bank, and I’ll meet you guys at the corner.[I break into a run]
[With all the seriousness of a heart attack my mom says,]
My Mom: Don’t fall…!
[I stop dead in my tracks and double over with laughter – as does my Dad]
Me: Mom, I think I can handle it – I’ve been doing this running thing since I was about 2, I think you were there…
This month I turned 26, and last time I checked, by all societal measures I qualify as an adult. Yet, my mother to this day still worries about me scraping my knee. Now pause and let that sink in for a moment… It’s funny on the surface, but belies the depth of the sentiment.
Granted, my mom is the President, CEO, and Founder of Worried Mothers Inc., but think about how the past 26 years of my parents’ lives have been dedicated to ensuring that every conceivable aspect of their two children’s lives is taken care of.
I love both of my parents, and their parenting styles are as different as Kobe is from Lebron. My mother’s amber alert levels are countered by my father’s cool and calm. Given that I am the product of such an environment, I wonder, what this will make me as a father???
I recently got married to a phenomenal woman who is going to make an amazing mother. I am truly excited to become a father (5-year plan don’t fail me now!!!), but I cannot yet fathom what that really means. I’m taking the first step towards starting a career by going back to school. I’m 3 weeks into being a husband, and I have dreams of traveling the world with my wife, and becoming a world class bedroom-DJ…AND THEN raising 2.5 amazing children + dog.
With all the broken families out there, I look to my parents who have been together exactly one year longer than I have been alive (27 years this October). Will all the time, energy, sacrifice, and advice they have poured into me spontaneously kick in once my child takes its first breath? How will I do for my own what my father and mother have done for me?
Adults-in-Training, what do you think about the prospect of becoming parents? What do you remember most about how your parents raised you, and what lessons will you carry forward or even do differently from how you were raised?
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4 comments:
The thing I remember the most is just the big loving family, 4 kids, 2 parents, at least 1 cousin and whoever else happened to be around. Trying to do that in today's world is a challenge and a goal!
The concept of extended family is definitely being lost to the detriment of future generations...I always had real & pseudo aunts, uncles, and cousins around -- it will definitely be a challenge to create that same support network for our future kids...
But at least Uncle Ugo is already in the mix!
Maan my home was mostly filled with laughter, whatever my parents were going through as adults we were clueless to because they never argued infront of us.I want my kids to remember laughter and love esp between my husband and I (hey boo). With Nii Ato I know I'm half way there to creating that kind of home for my kids. I always knew I'd have a family one because I was so happy growing up.
I experienced the same thing as Nana said with my family. I only became aware of any extended family drama in the last few years and that's only because I'm quiet/sneaky and nosey. My parents did a great job of keeping all that stuff away from my brother and I. Still to this day, there are always more than immediate family in my home (florida home) and all the pseudo-family that come along with all that. I want to re-create the same thing when I have a family. Just gotta get my Mr. Man first.
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