Raising Parents
We start out in life with the perception that our parents are perfect.
They've got all the answers, they know why the round block doesn't fit in the square hole AND they managed to hold it til they got to the bathroom every single time!
As we grow and learn, we find out that there are things they don't know.
By the time we're 14 (or earlier), our parents no longer know anything at all that is actually worth knowing.
Mum and dad loose all grip on reality at this point for some reason. They just don't 'get it'. They fail to understand the fundamental basics.... How many times do we have to tell them? "No Mum, the generic brand looks nothing like the real one!"
When we hit the age of Adulthood, that's it, we are free to do whatever we want right? So it's off to the club with our friends and between that, work and/or study we don't really see our parents much over the next 12 months - kind of like a gap year.
When next we meet, we find that mum and dad have renewed their sense of reason and some time between you turning 20 to 30, they start knowing things again (parents really are an erratic bunch) and you can now face each other as equals in conversation.
At 34, I still have so much to learn. I see how much my own children have taught me and all the things I am yet to teach them. I value my parent's input in a way I never thought I would while I was growing up. I can see now how much we've grown together, learnt from each other and how much more we still have to share.
They've got all the answers, they know why the round block doesn't fit in the square hole AND they managed to hold it til they got to the bathroom every single time!
As we grow and learn, we find out that there are things they don't know.
By the time we're 14 (or earlier), our parents no longer know anything at all that is actually worth knowing.
Mum and dad loose all grip on reality at this point for some reason. They just don't 'get it'. They fail to understand the fundamental basics.... How many times do we have to tell them? "No Mum, the generic brand looks nothing like the real one!"
When we hit the age of Adulthood, that's it, we are free to do whatever we want right? So it's off to the club with our friends and between that, work and/or study we don't really see our parents much over the next 12 months - kind of like a gap year.
When next we meet, we find that mum and dad have renewed their sense of reason and some time between you turning 20 to 30, they start knowing things again (parents really are an erratic bunch) and you can now face each other as equals in conversation.
At 34, I still have so much to learn. I see how much my own children have taught me and all the things I am yet to teach them. I value my parent's input in a way I never thought I would while I was growing up. I can see now how much we've grown together, learnt from each other and how much more we still have to share.
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