Thank you Mom and Dad...

I don't think I have ever really thanked them. It's about time. I just realized today that I never have appreciated either one of them enough. How did I figure this out?

I had been subpoenaed to appear in court today as a witness in a case. It was in juvenile court. I sat in that court room for a couple hours and heard several cases. In most cases, the mother ended up being called to the witness stand. No wonder these teens were how they were!

Examples:

One mother was asked if she knew if her son was attending school. Her answer: "He has a car and he knows where the school is." What???? He's your son! Make sure he goes!

One mother was asked if she knew what grade her daughter was in. Her reply: "I don't know, she misses a lot of school." In her defense, this woman did know her child's birth date, even if she messed up her child's age. Yes, she did! She said she was 17 and she is only 16.


One mother has a daughter with an IQ of 65. This daughter had never been taught how to respect authority. Her home life was far from functional, making her disability even harder.


Now, now is the time that I want to thank my parents. I want to thank them for teaching me to respect authority. I want to thank them for teaching me morals. Yes, I know, I've complained about you. I still love you! I know you love me. You cared about me when I was growing up. You wanted to know what I was up to. You grounded me. You spanked me (Yikes! I promise I came out ok). You taught me to be a better person. You took me to church. You would not tolerate it if I ended up in juvenile court! My goodness I can't even imagine what would have happened! You don't even know the difference you made in mine and Becca's lives. You helped us become the people we are and that is great!


I know you know when my birthday is. :) I know you know if I attended school. I even know you know I didn't do much homework. You allowed me the opportunity to be involved in many things. Most of all, you were proud of us and I know you still are.


Thank you again. If only the people in the courtroom today could have parents like you. They may not have been sitting in that court room. I wouldn't be who I am today had it not been for your love for me and your guidance.

So here they are!


My mom: She likes to sing. She has a wonderful husband name Clark. She loves her dogs. She loves chocolate covered cherries. She is allergic to onions. She loves the Colts. She loves her daughters. She loves her grandbabies.

My dad: He has a beard. He does not like to acquire lots of things. He sends me random packages full of random stuff. He likes to travel a lot. He hikes. He would like to do the Appalachian Trail. He is goofy.