Parent-child relationships can be challenging at times. Yet, some people seem to have truly lucked out, enjoying supportive and caring mothers and fathers who are always ready to help. Their uplifting stories warm our hearts and remind us to hold our loved ones close.<\/p>\n
1.<\/p>\n
My parents are imperfect, but they did a lot of things right. The biggest one that sticks out to me is that they\u2019re supportive of things my brother and I like, even when they don\u2019t understand or like it. They didn\u2019t really care for skateboarding, but they spent hundreds of dollars over the years for my brother to enjoy his hobby.
\nThey not only helped me get a drum set, but allowed the band to hold practice in our basement and drove us to all our shows. Plus, they wanted me to be a lawyer, but they were willing to settle for line cook. It made a difference in the long run, because eventually it helped me realize that I get to make my own choices in life, nothing is laid out for me. I can do whatever I enjoy, and my parents will be there for me, cheering me on.
\nWhat I didn\u2019t realize back then was how many sacrifices they made quietly, without ever mentioning the cost or exhaustion behind it.<\/p>\n
2.<\/p>\n
My parents weren\u2019t perfect and they weren\u2019t wealthy. My dad was abandoned as a child, in a state, thousands of miles away from home, raised with a bunch of people he wasn\u2019t related to. My mom was a child of divorced parents, and hated by her stepparents. They found each other and worked very hard so me, my sister, and my brother never had to go through those same troubles. Both of my parents have trauma from their youth, my dad can be paranoid, my mom struggles with depression, but they never abandoned us.
\nWhen my cousin was starving because my aunt was out, they took him in, and he became my brother. Sometimes they argue, sometimes they yell, but they never laid hands on each other. They\u2019ve been there for me countless times, even when it cost everything. Now that I\u2019m older, I\u2019m trying my hardest to be there for them, because I know now what they\u2019ve done for us. They broke the cycle.
\nAnd sometimes I wonder how many times they held themselves together just so we would never feel the cracks beneath our feet.<\/p>\n
3.<\/p>\n
My son is about to turn 13. A year ago, I decided to clear the balcony of junk and, at the same time, teach my son how to earn money. I installed a marketplace app on his phone and showed him how to use it.
\nWe agreed that he would keep all the money he earned, but he would have to conduct all negotiations himself. Over the following months, he sold bicycles, old plumbing fixtures, dead phones, a scooter, a blanket, etc. With the money raised, my son bought a new phone.
\nAt first he was shy talking to strangers, but slowly I saw confidence building in him after every deal. As a result, he learned how to talk to strangers and explain some details about the things he was selling. I instilled in him the knowledge that he owns what he\u2019s earned and that he decides how to spend his own money. I instilled willpower in him to save money, not to run and spend it immediately on all sorts of goodies. Oh, and I also cleared the balcony.
\nBut the proudest moment was when he negotiated his final sale alone, then looked at me as if he had just discovered a secret about the real world.<\/p>\n
4.<\/p>\n
When I was little, we lived near a freeway. I asked my mom one time how far the freeway went, and where we would be if we just got on it and kept driving. She had a map. Did she show it to me? Nope. She said, \u201cLet\u2019s see.\u201d
\nWe hopped in the car and drove for hours until we were both tired of it, THEN pulled out the map and found a route home along the shore of one of the US Great Lakes. This was in the 80s, before GPS or cellphones. I was maybe 10, and she let me navigate home.
\nWhat she didn\u2019t tell me until years later was that she had no real plan at all\u2014she just trusted me to figure it out with her. That day felt like freedom, but now I realize it was also trust.
\nShe could have just told me or shown me on the map without leaving the couch, but she wanted me to know\u2026 and maybe she wanted to know herself. That\u2019s how she\u2019s always been \u2014 it\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n
5.<\/p>\n
When I failed my first year at Uni, they didn\u2019t get angry or upset. My mom sat down next to me while I was bawling my eyes out in shame, and hugged me until I calmed down.
\nShe said it wasn\u2019t the end of my life, and that she was, and always will be, proud of me.
\nWhat I didn\u2019t expect was how calmly she said it, as if she had already prepared herself for that moment long before I ever failed.<\/p>\n
6.<\/p>\n
They showed up to everything, every game, award ceremony, or school play. They did their best and showed up. Even when I was the least talented kid, or I only closed the curtains for the show \u2014 they were there to support me.
\nI used to scan the crowd pretending I didn\u2019t care, but I always found them. And every time I did, I felt like I mattered more than my performance ever could show.<\/p>\n
7.<\/p>\n
My wife and I have introduced a concept called the \u201cSaturday sack\u201d to our kids. The rule is that before bedtime, the kids put their toys away. Anything that hasn\u2019t been put away is collected in this bag and put away for at least a week. If a toy ends up in the bag for the second time, it is put away for a month because its value is obviously low for our children.
\nThe first time it happened, our youngest cried like it was the end of the world\u2026 but what he didn\u2019t know was that we were watching to see if he would remember. And the silence the next Saturday was even more powerful than the rule itself.<\/p>\n
8.<\/p>\n
Mom noticed red lipstick on Dad\u2019s collar. Didn\u2019t say anything. A couple of days later, she found marks from foundation on his sleeve, and then she got furious. She gave Daddy a hard time.
\nHe admitted he was taking makeup classes, which made Mom even more furious.
\nBut Daddy showed he wasn\u2019t lying by doing my makeup! Dad proved his point and said, \u201cI have 3 daughters. I have to be a good father to them and be able to do everything!\u201d
\nMom didn\u2019t laugh at first\u2026 until she realized he had secretly been practicing for weeks, terrified she would find out the truth the wrong way.<\/p>\n
9.<\/p>\n
A friend\u2019s 14-year-old daughter once said, \u201cGive me money for a tattoo!\u201d The worst thing was that she wanted to get a tattoo on her face! So my friend and his daughter discussed a plan. They agreed to go to a tattoo artist over the weekend. \u201cI\u2019ll pay double the price,\u201d my friend said, \u201cbut first you do it without ink, and only after that with ink.\u201d When he discussed this with the artist, he asked him in a whisper to make the first round as painful as possible. As soon as the artist began to work on her cheek, his daughter howled because it hurt so badly.
\nThat night they returned home, and everyone was happy. Mom and Dad were happy because the daughter didn\u2019t spoil her pretty face, and the daughter was happy because she didn\u2019t have to endure any pain \u2014 if she didn\u2019t agree to a test round, she\u2019d have to endure pain until the very end. I think the father did the right thing. He kept a good relationship with his daughter. And if he tried to force her not to do it, she would have done it anyway out of spite.
\nBut what shook her most wasn\u2019t the pain\u2014it was realizing decisions have consequences that can\u2019t be undone.<\/p>\n
10.<\/p>\n
My mom went with me to college to help me get settled there. Once everything was sorted out, she left late at night and gave me all her money, except for enough for her bus ticket home. I was happy that I was free from parental care and rushed off to party with other students.
\nHowever, my mother didn\u2019t catch the last bus and spent the night at the bus station, as her money was only enough for a ticket and a cup of tea with a biscuit. I only found out about it 7 years later, and I cried terribly.
\nThat night she never called me. She just sat there alone, making sure I never felt guilty while I was learning how to be independent.<\/p>\n
11.<\/p>\n
I was raised by my dad alone, so I\u2019m a jack of all trades. Changing a light bulb is an easy task for me \u2014 I can also do some wiring and rebuild a car.
\nIt was my dad who made me love cars, and I became a taxi driver. Male passengers look at me surprised, as if they\u2019ve never seen a woman driving before. These men don\u2019t know that I can do push-ups from the floor and also love fishing!
\nAnd they never see the quiet pride I feel every time I remember him teaching me that no skill is \u201cnot for girls.\u201d<\/p>\n
12.<\/p>\n
I was pregnant when I discovered my husband was having an affair. I wanted to leave him. With no job or savings, the future terrified me. My mother told me to stay. Her reasoning was simply who else would support us. One day, the bell rang, and it was my stepdad. He told me to pack my stuff, and move in with them.
\nHe owned a store, and gave me a job, enough for me to support myself through my pregnancy. To be honest, he did more for me than my own parents did. Today, I\u2019m happily remarried and have two more kids. Oh, and I named my first child, a daughter, after him. He\u2019s no longer with us, but I still feel the love and always will.
\nWhat I never told anyone is that he never once made me feel like I was a burden\u2014even on my worst days.<\/p>\n
13.<\/p>\n
My mom was driving us home when a car came and hit us, hard. I don\u2019t remember much because I hit my head, and was bleeding. She called 911, gave me first aid, and held my hand, throughout. I remember it was her hand holding mine tightly that got me through the ambulance ride to the hospital.
\nMy dad rushed into emergency, she got up and shocked everyone by crumpling onto the floor in a dead faint. The impact had left her with four broken ribs, but all she could think of was getting me to safety and the treatment I needed. We still call her the iron lady at home.
\nAnd even now, whenever she tells the story, she always skips the part where she was hurting\u2014like it never mattered compared to me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Parent-child relationships can be challenging at times. Yet, some people seem to have truly lucked out, enjoying supportive and caring mothers and fathers who are always ready to help. Their uplifting stories warm our hearts and remind us to hold our loved ones close. 1. My parents are imperfect, but they did a lot of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":23379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tales"],"yoast_head":"\n