I do not miss the pandemic, but I do miss my writing time. I want to get back to writing each day. In light of this, I am going to write a mini-blog series for Thanksgiving. Each day will be a post about something that I am thankful for. The posts are in no particular order. I am choosing meaningful dates when possible. For example, Brainy Bird’s post will be on the 3rd, and Little Chirp’s post will be on the 27th. These days correspond with the day of the month that their birthdays are on. Somedays will just be spontaneous.
November 1st was my mother’s birthday. In honor of this, my first post will be about my parents. I am deeply thankful for my parents. There is the obvious – my parents brought me into this world; I would not exist without them. And there is so much more than being brought into existence that I am thankful for when I think about my parents. I could write an entire book, but we all know how that book writing thing goes for me, so I am going to write about the one thing that I am most thankful for from each of my parents.
Mom
I would like to tell you that I appreciated my mother the day that I was born, but that would be a lie. I fully appreciated my mother the day that I became a mother myself. The feeling of loving a human being beyond everything else in all of the world must be what it is like to stand before the presence of God. I remember holding Brainy Bird in my arms for the first time, and I remember telling him how completely I loved him. Two decades later, that love has never wavered. Most of all, I remember the realization that flooded my heart as I realized that this love is the love that my own mother has for me.
Of everything about my mother that I am thankful for, the one thing that I am most thankful for is her dying message to me. It was such a simple message. My heart feels no doubt that she meant this with all of her heart. As the now parent of an adult child, I 100% appreciate her simple message.
Her message, “My one hope as a parent is for my children to be happy.”
I struggled on so many fronts for so many years. How does someone screw up so epically in life without criminal activity or ever having a drug problem? I am that person, and I have no idea. I often felt like such a disappointment that I pursued successes in life that I did not care about. I just wanted my parents to be proud of me.
Today, I know that my mother is in Heaven and that I have met her one hope for me, and I have done so by investing my time and energy into the things in life that I am passionate about. As a child, I always needed her approval. I live everyday knowing that big career, no career, relationship, no relationship, money, no money, it does not matter. As long as I am happy, I have her approval.
Thank you Mom.
Dad
My relationship with my father was so incredibly different than my relationship with Mom. Even as a young child, I realized that Dad thought more of me than the rest of the entire world ever could. Dad and I had a bond the day that I was born. He could comfort me without touching me or saying a word, just his presence brought me peace. Dad taught me to dream big. He never told me to pursue a career path to make money; he told me to become a writer. Then he ever so casually helped me find a temporary career as a computer programmer where I could make money while I pursued my writing career.
My biggest sorrow in life is that Dad and Brainy Bird did not have more time together. Brainy Bird is his grandfather. There are times when Brainy Bird’s mannerisms and outlook on the world give me chills as they remind me so much of Dad. The difference between the two geniuses is the extraordinarily different circumstances that they grew up in.
I digress…how could I not? I am thinking about Dad. It’s my blog; I will digress if I want to.
Back to the topic, the one thing that I am most thankful for from my dad is the core values that he instilled in me:
- Integrity and honesty above all else. This might cost you in the short run, but you will never regret acting with integrity and honesty.
- In his words, “Men, women, black, white, brown, yellow, purple, green or whatever we are all equal. It is our values and how we treat others that matter.”
- God made us strong, and it is our responsibility to protect and care for those that cannot protect themselves.
When I am in a difficult situation, I think about Dad. Never once have I regretted living by the core values that he instilled in me. I hope that I am successfully instilling the values into my own children.
Thank you, God, for my parents.
Mom and Dad, thank you for everything that you gave me in life. I am proud and deeply grateful to be your daughter.