Gracias! Part 1

It's nearly November. This is the month we are supposed to reflect on all that we're thankful for. To begin with, there are some things I know I take for granted that I really should give propers to (sorry for the poorly constructed sentence). Things such as treated water, grocery stores, touch-tone service, and washable crayons are entirely too unsung. And where would I be without indoor plumbing? The list goes on but I won't. I do believe, however, this is good opportunity to express why I'm thankful for the people in my life.

It's strange to think about but have you ever stopped to wonder how your life would be completely different if just one thing changed? What if just one person in your life never existed? Okay, maybe it's not that strange to think of. Maybe I just never really digested the valuable lessons the Back to the Future series were trying to teach us. The point is, I truly believe we are shaped by everyone in our lives...even the people we have felt certain we could live without. Luckily, I really haven't run into very many of those...luckily I have a plethora (YES! I got to use that word) of the good kind.

I guess I should start with my parents. First and foremost I'm thankful they have stayed together. Although they've told me they weren't truly happy until my sister was born(that was a funny), I know they've encountered many obstacles over the past 31 years. While I'm sure they didn't do all of their fighting in front of us, they did enough to show us that relationships aren't always pleasant. I learned that I don't have to be afraid of conflict...that it doesn't mean something is wrong with either person, it doesn't mean someone is going to leave, and that people can and do resolve their conflicts and move on. It's a lesson that has made my marriage better. Boy oh boy do we practice that lesson a lot (another funny).

I'm thankful that my parents never tried to be my friend. They were perfectly comfortable being my parents. I had friends. I needed someone to raise me. Growing up, I had friends whose parents would buy them beer, cigarettes, let them have parties...they usually were also that parents that would go through their drawers, read their journals, listen in on phone conversations. If you are a person's friend, you believe you have carte blanche into their business. In order for a parent to relate to their teenage children, they need to act and think like teenagers. Parents need to act and think like adults. If my parents ever did invade my privacy in any way, I didn't know it. They never used it against me. I was never too terribly embarrassed my them. More often than not, I was pretty proud of them. My friends all liked (and still do) my parents. Sarah still remembers the time my dad and I convinced her that he was in Def Leppard.

I'm thankful that even as an adult with a family of my own, that there's nothing I don't feel like I could go to my parents for. Pride and genuine lack of necessity keep me from calling on them most of the time. There are certain things they've done, particularly over the past four years, that I will be enternally indebted to them for. (I can't hear them saying "YES! YES YOU WILL!)

I'm thankful that, at least for the time being, they are normal people that sometimes do weird things. I'm not going to start criticizing other parents to illustrate my point. Suffice it to say that they are intelligent, funny, with good values that practice good hygiene. A big fat phew! to that!

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In the next few posts, I want to try to devote each one to someone else. I won't go in any particular order so do be offended if you are next or last. It just may mean that the next person I write about will be someone I was just with that day, or had an interesting conversation with, or gave me money.