A Valentine to Mom and Dad
Recently I was chatting with two friends who were recounting memories of childhood. One talked about her mother’s three divorces. The other remembered how afraid she was to be home alone while her mother worked, and then how it was to live with an aunt for a while. When they turned to me and asked about my childhood stories I explained that I had a very ordinary childhood with very little drama to share. “I grew up in a home where we always knew mom and dad loved each other. Dad brought Mom flowers and Mom baked Dad’s favorite pies. We went to the beach in the summer, to the canyon on Saturdays and we visited both sets of grandparents every Sunday night. Pretty ordinary,” I said. My friends sat quietly for a minute and one spoke up and said, “That sounds pretty remarkable to me; maybe no drama, but definitely not ordinary. I would have given anything to say I knew my mom loved my dad.” ...