My Parents Were Right About Everything (OR: My Sister Is Awesome)

The older I get, the more I realize my parents were right about everything.  Since I can’t go back and stop my teenage eyes from rolling, I thought I’d blog about three of the things they were right about.  I’m sure there will be more I learn about in the future. 

1.  Your friends come and go, but your family is forever.  I think this is the most important.  My parents used to say this when my sister, Liz, and I were arguing.  Turns out they were totally right!  I’m still friends with some of the girls I grew up with, but as we've all gone to college and they've gotten married, I've ended up spending a lot more time with my siblings when I go back home, and they’re awesome. When I start getting homesick, it’s usually because I haven’t seen my Lizzy in too long. My sister is my best friend, I love her more than bunnies (and any other metaphor for great love).  

2.    Clean the house so we can relax over the weekend.  Growing up I was terrible at doing chores.  I’m not sure why, I think it’s because I assumed one of my more responsible siblings would take up the slack.  Anyways, I spent a couple days before the semester started last week cleaning up all the corners of my apartment.  While I was working through two weeks of dishes I realized why my parents always tried to get us to clean up the house before Sundays and big holidays, so they could sit back and enjoy what what going on, rather than follow us around cleaning up our messes.  So, I apologize for being such a slacker.  I keep my apartment cleaner than I kept my bedroom growing up. 

I couldn't find pictures of a messy house, so I've put in pictures of me and my more responsible sibling, Liz (our 'Nother Mother).  

33.  Remember who you are and what you stand for.  I think my dad told me this before every date I went on.  At the time I thought it meant to not do anything on my date I wouldn’t tell my parents about.  Since I moved out I realized that it means to be aware of the way the things I do and say reflect on who I am.  And who I am is directly influenced by my family and what they taught me to value. 

My grandparents and I at my baptism

Most of my family, we've added Stephanie and Coby since then.  

There's a strong female presence in my family

 

There are some other things my parents have tried to tell me that I’m sure whether they’re right about yet.  For example, the importance of communication (they would suggest it’s less important than others), food touching (I say, mix it up), and how often the dog needs to be fed (I think 3x per morning is excessive) are all up for debate.  But they said some pretty great things.