February 23, 2009 Letter

To My Forever Child;

Classes start tonight and I’m nervous. I want to be the best mom I can be, but then I have moments where I worry that I won’t be good enough for you. I hope I can make all your dreams come true and give you the best home possible, like my parents did for me.

There has never been a time when I couldn’t talk to my parents – let them know how I felt. There were a lot of times when I refused to talk to them (I had a tiny little attitude when I was a teenager… imagine that.)

My mom and dad worked very hard to raise me right, and looking back, they did an amazing job. They never really had to punish me, okay they did sometimes, but not a whole lot. I wanted to make them proud more than anything in the world, and the worst punishment was when I knew I had disappointed them.

When I got in trouble growing up, mom used to put me in purgatory. I was grounded in the traditional sense – no friends over, no phone, no tv, no fun – plus, as an added bonus, I had a list of chores that I had to complete before being released from purgatory.

It wasn’t the normal chores like doing the dishes, or taking out the trash, no, my mom was much sneakier than that. I’d have to scrub the grout in the bathrooms with a toothbrush, polish the silver, dust all of the stuff on the shelves, take down all the globes off the lights and clean them, polish the glasses. Really horrible boring stuff. Now that I’m grown and have a house of my own to deal with, I realize she was getting a two for one deal. Not only did I get punished, but she got all of the housework done that there is never enough time to do.

I would whine, and gripe the whole time, but I knew I wouldn’t be out of trouble until I did the stinking chores, and my mom had a lot more patience than I did back then. I’d try to wait her out. I’d refuse to do the chores, stay in my room and pout, until it came time for me to want to go out with my friends to the movies or to a game. Then I would beg her to let me go “just one time.” She never fell for it. I’d do the chores, praying in my haste that I didn’t break anything, and make it out of purgatory just in time to go see a movie or a game.

I hope that I’m as smart as my mom. I hope when you grow up that you think I’m a smart lady, too.

I already love you,
Mom