30 Day Blog Challenge - Day 4

Day 4 is about my parents. I think this is really fitting because today also happens to be my Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!!
Here's a fairly recent photo of my parents with me and my youngest son on my graduation day:

My parents have been married since 1978. I love the story about how they met - my Dad basically chased my Mom down, and figured out who she was and all that. Kind of stalker-ish, but really cute, especially since my Dad doesn't really seem like the type. I think he must've known that she was the girl he was supposed to marry. They had a whirlwind romance, and got married pretty quickly after they met. I came along 14 months after the wedding.

My parents have had their ups and downs, as all couples do. My Dad was always quiet and non-confrontational. I get that from him. It takes a lot to make him blow his top. He never let us steamroll him, but he was always the laid back parent. I can remember getting in late after curfew one night as a teenager. He was awake, and he let me know that he was awake when I came in. My Mom was sound asleep, but he told me that he would keep it between us so that my Mom wouldn't get upset. He was my hero at that point!

My Mom was always the disciplinarian. I'm pretty sure I told her many times when I was growing up that I didn't like her. I might have even used the word "hate". I'm so sorry now. My Mom was and IS a great parent. She has always been there for me, even when I have screwed up. When I went through a really costly custody battle over my 3 older kids, I was broke. I had been left some money when her mother passed away, but I had basically blown through all of it in less than a year or so (mostly on rent/daycare and stuff for my kids). I didn't want to tell my Mom that all the money was gone and that I was back to living paycheck to paycheck (and those paychecks weren't much!), but I really was terrified and I needed some sort of financial help in order to fight this custody battle. We were sitting next to one another in the courthouse and she asked me if I could use some of the money that had been left to me. I couldn't lie to her, so I just shook my head and said no. She said to me, "It's all gone, isn't it?". I told her that it was, and she said she had a feeling that it would happen. I felt like such a disappointment to her at the time, but she has NEVER made me feel that way. She told me that I could take that experience and learn from it, and move forward. That's something that both my parents have taught me. Never live in the past. Don't bring up old "hurts". Look to the future in your relationships, never over your shoulder and in the past.

I hope that my children are able to look at me when they're grown and say that I was a good Mom too.

To see the full list of the daily challenges, see this POST.