donnakeeble

One of the best examples I have from my parents is that they trusted
us to make good decisions. We were always told that if we were honest
when we screwed up, they could help us "fix it" rather than have to
lie or hide the problem to make it worse. I made pretty good
decisions (in my opinion <BWG>) as a teen. Some bad fashion choices
were made and multiple ear piercings - but since none of it really got
a reaction from my parents, I felt no need to push any limits. We had
no curfews because my parents knew our friends - our friends had
curfews and we would be home at a reasonable hour as a result.

My parents have seen the tremendous grief we went through with the
public schools and the difficulties of parenting a child with Tourette
Syndrome and OCD. They have seen the "miracles" wrought by a
transition to homeschooling and then unschooling. They have learned
to accept their grandchildren exactly as they are and trusted us to
parent them well. I have learned to accept my parents for how they
*do* love us rather than how I *expect* them to. My father spent
hours helping my husband rewire our barn and run an outlet to our
pool. He comes to the rescue when our van breaks down or our pool
filter stops. He may never sit and read a story to my kids or wrestle
with them on the floor. But he did help my British husband (never
played baseball in his life) coach little league baseball with his (my
dad's) arm in a sling from shoulder surgery.

Anyway, I could go on - life was not always perfect growing up. My
mom and I have not always been the best of friends - far from it at
times. BUT I do have some good examples to bring forward into
parenting....

Just wanted to share,
Donna