DocAndersen
It can be a story of giving. I wanted to add to the post I made earlier today about wandering and parenting. What we give our kids is often forgotten. It isn’t always forgotten, but it is often. Standing in the snow for 5 hours to get them into the school of their dreams. Something that is often forgotten, often ignored. That is the reality of parenting. My parents got me going, gave me a great start in life and later I am happy to say I found that they, my parents, are people I was honored to call friends. It is funny, but throughout the teenage years, it was very difficult for my parents. I was filled with unexplained anger. It went away because my parents stayed and didn’t run away.
Running away is a very dangerous thing to do. Every door you close when you run away is a door that may never open again.
I thought I would put together a brief poll to share, to see what people thought. Feel free to add additional parenting ideas, concepts and tips in the comments!
The past is a tricky thing to evaluate. We, as people often focus our energy on the reality of blame. It wasn’t our fault that things happened the way they did. We were simply navigating the life we wanted. The problem, the reality we forget is the empowerment and enablement our parents provided along the way. Not all parents are good, not all children are bad. It is a mixed bag of reality and choices. But sometimes, if stop for a moment and consider, our parents tried to do the right things when they could.
I am not saying, however, that we should forgive people that abuse. That is two-way on abuse by the way. Abuse, neglect and such are dangerous. Nobody wins in those situations. The goal is to do the best you can. To try and make the world a better place for you having been in it! But it is also critical to be willing to forgive those who may not have been perfect. The first time we stumble, and there is no one there to catch us, we realize what our parents did for us!
-
Question of
Did your parents try their best?
-
Yes
-
No
-
-
Question of
Have you forgiven your parents for the things they did wrong?
-
Yes
-
No
-
-
Question of
Have you forgiven your parents for the things they did wrong?
-
Yes
-
No
-
-
Question of
Have you thanked your parents for the things they did well?
-
Yes
-
No
-
…”Running away is a very dangerous thing to do. Every door you close when you run away is a door that may never open again.”
What a true statement Doc. Thank you for this post.
It brought tears for so many reasons but I still enjoyed it.
It is a sad reality we all have to face at times.
Life is that way, we all get thrown curve balls. I try to doge them.
The great line from the movie Dodge Ball, if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball.
This is a very insightful post, Scott. Pain and hurt inflicted at an early age can leave such lasting scars it can be hard to forgive. While my parents were not perfect human beings, I believe they really did do their best for me. Forgive but learn, especially as a parent!
Forgive and learn as a parent is truly the best path. Hard, sometimes, to do, but the best path to take with children.
I read once about never regretting anything that taught a valuable lesson. This may be hard to do all the time, but it is true in my opinion..
regrets are bad sometimes, but there are always things we wish we had done better.