Nothing is roses, dandelions, puppies, kittens, sunny rays of delight and perfection, but that's what makes our love unshakeable.
My momma:
She has always made sure my sister and I were provided for, and that almost always meant she had to sacrifice. My mom had the most difficult job in the world in my eyes: raising two kids without support in the home. My daddy's always been in my life, and I'll write about how much I love him in a minute. But my mom was the single parent who had to, day in and day out, do the not-so-great things that come with parenting. She got the brunt of my disgusting teenage attitude. She's still allowing me to be a squatter since this delightful economy has yet to provide me with adequate income -- I know I drive her crazy sometimes because I'm supposed to be successful by now, but I'm not.
I've never seen my mom disrespect anyone outside of our home. She's the kind of customer anyone would want. She has the giving heart of her mom (my Mama), and I've been fortunate enough to witness it firsthand. She'd probably hate for me to tell this publicly, but I'm going to anyways. I've been sort of earning my keep by writing out the bills lately so that's one less thing she'd do. She leaves me a note telling me how much to divvy out to well-deserving ministries and charities. She gives HUNDREDS each month. And she's a teacher, so let that speak for itself about her incoming dough. She taught me by example not to allow any man to demean, degrade or objectify me. Her heart is tender, yet emboldened with truth and integrity.
I love all of our memories, especially of the harder times when I was younger because she always penny-pinched and improvised to make sure we had a beautiful childhood with trips to the zoo, museums, special Pizza Hut nights, icecream rewards, little surprises she'd pick up if they reminded her of us and many more.
I hope I'm able to see her finally living out her dreams instead of going through the motions. I believe God will honor that request.
My daddy:
He has become the best man I know. It's been a gift to see his heart transform into someone who cares for the homeless and the downtrodden with a depth that convicts me to be better. He gives without ever expecting anything in return. I asked him how he doesn't get hurt when friends aren't as good to him as he is to them. He told me he just doesn't take it personally. I wish I could be so selfless like he is in his friendships. He is the king of the grill, to my great benefit. :) His life hasn't been easy, but he never complains. Even now that he's going through some tough times, I haven't once heard him gripe about it. He makes do and believes for the best.
I also love my memories with my daddy. I have so many good ones. He used to make me tuna sandwiches in the shape of a heart (I was an odd first grader. Tuna sandwiches were my fave.) and always made sure I had a zebra cake in my lunch. That's just one of the millions of memories I treasure.
I pray that God blesses both of my parents with much longer and healthy lives. If it wouldn't cause them pain, I'd want to die before them so I wouldn't have to feel the incomprehensible pain of living without them. I can't even type that without breaking down, so I'm going to wrap this up and say I'm a blessed girl to have my parents. They are my heart and soul. :) And they're both crazy; that's where I get it from!
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