WynterWynd
May 6th, 2004, 12:34 PM
To all the mean moms I know.
All moms are mean for a reason. As we grow into adults we know
why our moms were mean. 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 go pay for the bubble gum you
had taken 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 should 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. And someday when your
children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates
parents, you will tell them....
Was your Mom mean? I know mine was.
We had the meanest mother in the whole world!
While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have
cereal, eggs, and toast.
When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat
sandwiches.
And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was
different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd
think we were convicts in a prison.
She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing
with them.
She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we
would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break
the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes,
make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry,
empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie
awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.
She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth.
By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then,
life was really tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they
drove up.
They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While
everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait
until
we were 16.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other
kids experienced: None of us have ever been caught shoplifting,
vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime.
It was all her fault.
Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest
adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.
I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just
doesn't have enough mean moms.:heartthro
All moms are mean for a reason. As we grow into adults we know
why our moms were mean. 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 go pay for the bubble gum you
had taken 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 should 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. And someday when your
children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates
parents, you will tell them....
Was your Mom mean? I know mine was.
We had the meanest mother in the whole world!
While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have
cereal, eggs, and toast.
When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat
sandwiches.
And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was
different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd
think we were convicts in a prison.
She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing
with them.
She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we
would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break
the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes,
make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry,
empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie
awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.
She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth.
By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then,
life was really tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they
drove up.
They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While
everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait
until
we were 16.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other
kids experienced: None of us have ever been caught shoplifting,
vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime.
It was all her fault.
Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest
adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.
I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just
doesn't have enough mean moms.:heartthro