So Thankful For My Parents

Growing up with my mom and dad wasn’t an easy time for any of us. They were strapped for cash, moving a lot, having a baby, etc. I was the typical teen with a lot of angst. My parents basically made my life miserable. Had noooothing to do with moi! *insert eye roll*

When my parents moved to Virginia the year I turned 18, I said, “see ya”. I was totally done with moving around all of the time. I was going to live on my own and didn’t care what they ended up doing.

Spring forward to me being 22 and having my first baby. I had become a Christian the year before and my life was completely changed. I started seeing my parents, especially my mom, in a new light. I wanted to be closer to her and have a better relationship. We spent the next 22 yrs living in different states.

Over a year ago I started talking to my mom about getting a new start. She offered for us to live with her and my dad and youngest brother. I decided to take her up on the offer. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but wanted to go back to school and support myself and the boys.

As the time got closer, I started reaaaally worrying about how things were going to go with us living together again. Would I be able to hold my temper if my mom ticked me off? Would we be able to live in a house without arguing? Would our parenting styles cause friction? There was a lot of unknown.

Right after we got here, we all went out to lunch. It was the first sign that things could go extremely bad between and my mom. The kids and I have regular meal times at what I’d consider “normal” times. I learned that my parents are about 2 hrs later in lunches and dinners than us. Apparently, my oldest daughter told them that we eat at exactly noon and 5. Ok, super exaggeration. I like to eat around those times, but I’m pretty lazy about anything “exact”. In fact, I’ve never been on time to anything.

Needless to say, mom and I talked and I explained how I’d love to have mealtimes with them every single night, but considering the fact that Doodle had a bedtime of 8pm and they didn’t get HOME until about 7:30-8 and ate around 8:30, it just wouldn’t work for us. She understood and away we went.

There were little things to adjust to, but all in all, living with my family this time was completely different. I wasn’t as angry at the world as I used to be. I didn’t feel like my parents were against me in general like I did when I was 17.

We were actually having fun. We joked around a lot, hung out at dinners, they went to baseball games when I couldn’t, watched the boys when I was out of town, bought me a car (so crazy), and made their home our home! We have truly been blessed to have been there. I have to admit, it was extremely hard to leave.

I want to thank my parents publicly for the hospitality and love they’ve shown me and my boys for the past 8 months! Their home has really been a refuge and a blessing. I became a daughter again instead of just a mom. Their house is amazing. Yes, the boys had to share a bed, but most of the time it felt like we had the house to ourselves since my parents were gone for so long. Weekends we got to spend together and it was SO nice! It turned out to be the ideal situation! I can guarantee, we’ll be back as often as we can!