Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
When I was young, I used to wish my parents were a little less protective and a little less strict. They used to tell me it was because they loved me. And here's the kicker: when I was spanked (with a thick wooden paddle, I might add), they always told me it was because they loved me and it was for my own good.
My own good? Are they serious? As a child I couldn't understand how punishment could be good for me.
Just tell me your opinion and I'll take it into consideration. That's what I used to think. Well, my parents didn't go for that with me, with my older brother or with my younger brother, either.
Rules were enforced by my parents "in their house" and "as long as I lived under their roof, I would do as I was told." That one didn't go over too well with me either.
"I'm 16, Dad," I always told him, "I'm old enough to drive and I'm old enough to make my own decisions."
Then it was: "I'm 18, Dad. I'm old enough to vote and I'm old enough to make my own decisions."
His response always equaled something along the lines of: He was the parent and I was the child and I would do what he told me (either that or lose priveliges to the family car or miss out on a boy/girl party. You know, the one that "everyone's" going to?)
I never liked his responses. In fact, my dad and I use to go head-to-head quite a few times when I was younger. See, he always thought he was right and I always knew I was right. No one ever won - that is, until my dad pulled out the trump card and put me in my adolescent place.
Parents have a way of making their children fear the wrath of disobedience. It's like the world will end if they don't do as their parents say.
"I'm never going to be like my parents when I get older," I told myself in my adolescent years.
Ha. The joke's on me (I think my parents knew this all along). The older you get, the smarter your parents look and the dumber you feel. When I was in high school, I had strong convictions. I thought I knew everything. After going through four years of college and one year in the "real world," I discovered I didn't know as much as I thought I knew.
But, I do know this: I cherish the time I have with my parents (and brothers). I now know my parents do, in fact, know what they're talking about (they were kids once, too, you know!), and even though as an adolescent I thought my parents and I were on opposite ends of the spectrum, I realize now those opposite ends are parallel.
And I realize now I am fortunate to have protective parents who were "strict." I know now that it was all for my own good. Didn't I hear that somewhere before?
