Today marks the first day of my 8 days break from work. Since my sister April has had the baby, I've come to a realization that work is not as important as I used to make it out to be. I think I've also realized that having my mom and dad has also created a different mindset for me.
April and I have always said how much we love our parents, but I'm not sure they understand just how much. My mom is such a creative and loving person. She truly is one of my best friends. April and my mom are the first two women I think of when I want to go and do something fun and exciting. The first two women I will share information with. I get excited any time when I think about doing any kind of activity with either (or both) of them.
Ernie is my first male best friend. His personality is so much like me in so many ways. We are both very neat and organized people. One day a few years ago, he made the comment to me that crumbs on the counter after making a sandwich or a piece of toast, bothered him. I too, have my quirks. He puts the silverware all in one tray in the dishwasher, and I would prefer him to separate it out so all the pieces get clean. Our daughter has inherited the creativity from both my mom and Ernie's dad, both of which are both artists. She loves to sing, draw, dance, but all by herself (dancing and singing specifically). She also loves to collect. She has collections of bottle caps, collections of feathers, collections of acorns, collections of rocks, and collections of shells. We try to limit her "collections" and encourage her to focus on those that are most important to her.
My dad is my hero. He was instrumental in restoring a Studebaker firetruck for the Georgetown, CA fire department. One year, he drove the fire truck in the parade after it was completely restored. April and I teared up and began crying with pride for our dad when he drove by. I think Ernie has many of the same characteristics as my dad. He has a dry sense of humor (which you can sometimes take, and sometimes not take). Many of his personality traits are like my dad's. So for me, it is probably true when you hear the saying "the daughter's marry those that are most like their father".
One year in high school, April and I were riding with my dad in his dark cherry red VW baja bug on a road by our high school. We turned right onto a road off the local two lane highway and passed a lady in a car that had a big gold retriever-type dog sitting in the front passenger seat. Out of the silence of the car my dad says,"boy, that lady's boyfriend is a real dog." April and I sit there, realizing that his joke was dry and kind of silly, but start cracking up because the statement broke the silence in the car. We kept replaying the sound of his voice in our heads, over and over and couldn't help but laugh.
My parents have always been there for us no matter what. They provided us with probably the most normal, loving childhood, anyone could ask for. I am so grateful to this day to have both of them as parents.
I love you mom and dad, so very much.
Hey, and I love you very much. Having the two of you so close now really makes my heart sing. And incredibly...I don't get sick of seeing any of you EVER! (Hope that is the same for you and April). Aren't we just the luckiest people in the world...to live, laugh and love each other so much? Not everyone has such a close relationship with their parents. And the best part? (Or at least ONE of the best parts...) we can be totally honest with each other about everything. There are no hidden secrets about what your Dad and I were like growing up. You know everything about each one of us and I think we know pretty much everything about all of you. We can TRUST each other. There is no need to pretend that something doesn't exist when it really does. I smoked cigarettes when I was young. Oh...I told you that already! And drugs? Did I do any??? I guess if I did that's probably why I can't remember now! (Just kidding...it was the 60's, who am I kidding!). We are lucky in this way, aren't we! We are honest, hard-working people. Honesty is the most important to me. And I thank you for the wonderful tribute. You two actually NEVER gave me anything to worry about in your entire lives. And, I know that comes from the kind of parenting we gave you. Not everyone can say that about their kids.
ReplyDeleteBTW---beautiful header!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you mom. The picture was taken outside my yard, but I'm sure you guessed that!
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful tribute post to your mom and dad...I feel very fortunate to be able to be a part of your lives through blogging. I love what your family values as what is important in your lives...and it makes me know that the world of people are more alike than we know once we hop around the internet and see that we are all so similar. I find this comforting in this rapidly changing world. We seem to get all the media hyped at us with reality TV shows making it seem that families are more like these portrayals we see on the tube..but in reality it's more of what I'm reading here...just beautiful loving families sharing the simple things in life, and their love for one another.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this lovely tribute...it not only gave me a beautiful read on a beautiful family...but hope that all is right in the world.