This morning, while we were eating, Robert started taking us down memory lane. He said something positive about how dad helped him learn long division when he was struggling to understand the concept. It was so funny, because my memory of that was not a "positive, dad helping and Robert learning" kind of memory. The memory I have of those lessons is of a much more painful, frustrating, aggravating, blood-pressure raising experience by both parents and son.
The other day when I picked Barbara up from school, she asked me "Mom, was I a bad little kid?" When I asked her why she would ask/think that, she said one of her teachers was talking about how few times she had to spank her own children, and Barbara realized that she got lots more than that. We were talking about that today too. We all laughed about their growing up and the good & not-so-good memories, but even in the not-so-pleasant ones, they talked very positively about it. They seemed to realize that they weren't perfect, but really good kids and that we were trying to help them.
As we all talked, it made me realize that my kids seem to view their childhood & their parents in a positive light, well at least most of it, it seems. That made me feel so much better to know that they remember their growing up years as good & their parents as not horrible, child-beating, screaming, ranting & raving lunatics. :)
I positively, absolutely, with-everything-in-me ADORE my children!!!!!!!!
That's because their growing up years were good, happy times. I never heard/saw their parents rant/rave. I saw them work hard to provide for them and work hard to help them in school/teach them of God and teach them to love/respect their grandparents and their Aunt Jessica.
ReplyDeleteAll I have ever seen has been two excellent parents working hard to bring their children up in the love and knowledge of God.