Sunday Thought - November 24, 2013: Parents

I wrote a post yesterday about deadbeat parents, parents that abandon children after a divorce, before they're born, or for no reason at all other than pure selfishness.  Parents like this have always pissed me off because of the damage they do to the children that must forge ahead through life without the emotional support that parent brings to the table.  It doubly bothers me when a parent tries to make an excuse for why they did it.

This morning as I was thinking of something for the Thought for Sunday post, I thought back to my high school graduation.  The class I almost didn't graduate with.  Hey, I wasn't the best student.  I was very intelligent, I just wasn't very focused.  My interests were in areas not covered by the curriculum of the day.  It took junior college and a major in Psychology for me to hit my stride.  I don't think I as much as cracked a book, but I easily breezed through with a 3+ grade average in most classes.  Getting through high school, into college, and my Air Force career was not done alone.  It was a group effort.

I was lucky enough to have great, supportive, parents.  I have always thought that without the discipline that dad brought to the game I would have ended up either on the streets, in trouble with the law, drugs, a teenage parent, or dead.  I'm not so sure they understand what an impact I feel they had in my life, there was much of my life they didn't know about.  That's how much I loved them and didn't want to disappoint.  I laugh today at dad chasing me through the house with his hunting belt, threatening to wail the hell out of me with it, all the time promising it would hurt him more than me.  Well, physically, that wasn't true.  Emotionally, I now understand how much that discipline bothered him.  Without it, I would have been lost.

I plan on calling mom and dad this morning and reminding them how much I love them and appreciate that they were there for me.  I guess with Thanksgiving creeping up on us next week, I would challenge everyone to call family and thank them for being there.  I'm sure if you think about it, your view of your parents never being there for you may be colored by how big an ass you were growing up.  I think you may find, upon reflection, that they did the best they could.  If you still don't think so, ask yourself one question:  Did they stick around?  If the answer is yes, then think about those children that have to go it alone.  Think about the kids on the street, as you pass they by during the day.  Think about how hard their life is, and then call your parents.

If you know a young person that is in need of emotional support, call them.  Tell them how much you care about them and what they are going through.  Invite them to have Thanksgiving with you and yours.  Give them something to be thankful for, and someone to be thankful to.  It will have an impact.  It may save a life.

“I also believe that parents, if they love you, will hold you up safely, above their swirling waters, and sometimes that means you'll never know what they endured, and you may treat them unkindly, in a way you otherwise wouldn't.”  

-- Mitch Albom, For One More Day