Feb 16 2008
Parental Wisdom, Imparted
As parents, we often wonder if we’re doing a good job. I believe Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis was credited with saying “If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much.” Whether or not you agree with her, the point is that we all aim to raise our children as well as we possibly can.
I am no different in this regard.
I have thought long and hard about what matters and I have taken decisive action to make certain that these lessons are well learned by my children. I have educated myself on what the experts say on these matters. I have worked very hard to impart the messages and lessons to my children.
As they are beginning to come to adulthood, I see the results. I see the outcomes from all my hard work. I know that my legacy is secured.
My kids… they might not cure cancer or find a solution to poverty. They may not run for president or discover a formerly unknown renewable source of energy. Perhaps they won’t do a single thing that is impressive at a macro level.
But, dammit, they WILL turn off the fucking lights when they leave a room.
They WILL put their shoes neatly by the front door rather than on the floor of the family room where someone will trip over them.
They WILL rinse their dishes and place them into the dishwasher.
And while those things might not have any impressionable effect upon the economy or the future of the planet, they matter. If for no other reason but for the validation that the thousands and thousands and thousands of times I repeated myself on these epithets over the decades of raising children was not done in vain.
You might think that makes me stubborn, or even a little bit nutty. I’ll stick with my own definition of GOOD PARENTING.
Then end, light’s out, and now I can walk in the dark to my bedroom without fear of tripping over anyone’s shoes.
Where is my Mother of the Year award?
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