The Blessing of "Mean" Parents

When I was growing up, I used to think my parents were SO mean. I mean, really. We couldn't bring sack lunches to school. If we wanted to go shopping at the Buckle for $100 jeans, we had to work for them. If we were whiny and didn't feel like going to school, they made us suck it up and go anyway. We had bedtimes. The list goes on and on. After almost concluding my first year of teaching in a district with "less involved parents" (different clientele than I was used to in WDM) I've come to appreciate my "mean" parents more and more.

My parents stood for hard work. They stood for making us four kids earn an education and...if wanted $100 jeans, earning money to buy them. They stood for teaching us right from wrong and giving us consequences too. Yes, they spanked us and I thought I had it SO bad. They were SO mean. Why did they care SO much??

I appreciate my parents for so many things. One of the biggest things that I've overlooked all of these years, though, is the simple fact that they made me do things that I didn't always necessarily want to do. They taught me perseverance and hard work. At the age of 30 and having taught Special Ed. for 8 years now, those qualities have certainly come in handy. They're also coming in handy when I am trying to instill values into the lives of young people on a daily basis.

Mom and dad, thanks for everything you did for us growing up. Especially, thank you for teaching us 4 kids the value of hard work and perseverance. We're blessed.



My parents loving the life of grandparenthood. My kids are lucky to have them close.