I LOVED YOU ENOUGH

When I was in Jr. High I loved to read books by Erma Bombeck. The funny thing is she writes mainly about the strange irony of life as a mother. Maybe I could identify with her ahead of my time because of watching my mother and grand mother. What ever the reason I still love to find things she wrote. I came across this quote and it's important to me right now because I try so hard to be a good mother and painfully my children sometimes look at me like I am a monster. I can know full well what I am doing or saying is truly the best parenting anyone could administer however, the young unexperienced mind can't see the forest through the trees. My hope is that this Christmas my children will focus on giving and that they will appreciate things like freedom, love, family, education, religion and sacrifice. I pray they are all parents who love there children enough.

I LOVED YOU ENOUGH

-Erma Bombeck

Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them:

I loved you enough to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough to insist that you save your money and buy a bike for yourself even though we could afford to buy one for you.

I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to make you take a Milky Way back to the drugstore (with a bite out of it) and tell the clerk, "I stole this yesterday and want to pay for it."

I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that would have taken 15 minutes.

I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment and tears in my eyes. Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.

I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.

But most of all, I loved you enough to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it. Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.