She Get it From Her Mama (and her Daddy)

Day Four - Your Parents

Today's 30 Day Challenge is to write about your parents.  While I would love to share with you a picture of my parents, I feel little weird posting pictures of my family or people that don't know about this blog.  I don't know.  I feel like that is sort of an invasion of privacy and I wouldn't want to upset anyone.  So, I guess this entry will have to do without a picture... insert sad face here.  But no worries, I will tell you about how wonderful my parents are!

In true child/teenage style, I never really appreciated my parents.  They were the people who loved me because they "had" to.  They fed me, clothed me and took care of me because they "had" to.  That's what they were for me.  Once I was out of college, married and on my own, they took on a different role in my life - especially when I started dealing with infertility.  (Do all roads lead back to infertility?  Apparently they do!)

But let's back up a minute and actually give a little background.  My parents (not unlike my husband and me) met in high school and got married when they were 19 (not like my husband and me).  I'm sure even back then there were people who thought that they wouldn't make it, but here we are 32 years later and they are still very happily married.  They have truly taught me everything about having a strong, loving marriage.

A little over a year ago, my husband approached me and said that he wanted to start going to Church and he wanted to become Catholic.  I think that learning we were reproductively challenged made him (and me) look at our lives and our faith and realize that if we were going to get through this then we needed a little spiritual help.  We weren't sure where to set our "roots" so we started going to Church with my parents even though it's about a 20 minute drive from our house and there are plenty of Catholic Churches in our neighborhood.  After Church my parents would treat us to breakfast and it has quickly become one of my favorite parts of the weekend.  It's a great way to start the week, but it has also given me a chance to have a better relationship with my parents.  I think that through our weekly tradition they have seen and respected me as a "grown up" and I have turned to them as my confidants.  They have become people that I truly listen to and admire.  They also give great advice on how to deal with things, but they also listen and are on my side.  My mom especially is great at that.  I can tell her how angry I am that another one of my friends is pregnant and she's right there with me being angry and upset. 

I can honestly say that I would not be the person I am without these two very special people in my life.  I only hope that God will give me and my husband the chance to be great parents like they are!

The following is a song that always makes me think of my parents/makes me wish I had a daughter/makes me cry whenever I hear it.  Gotta love T. Swift!

I'm five years old and it's getting cold
I've got my big coat on
I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you
I run and run
Past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides
Look now the sky is gold
I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home

I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you're not scared of anything at all
Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
But I know I had the best day with you today

I'm thirteen now and don't know how my friends could be so mean
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys
And we drive and drive until we found a town far enough away
And we talk and window shop till I forgot all their names

I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school
But I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you
Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay
But I know I had the best day with you today
I have an excellent father
His strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my little brother
Inside and out he's better than I am

I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run
And I had the best days with you

There is a video I found from back when I was three
You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me
It's the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs
Daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world

Now I know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side even when I was wrong
And I love you for giving me your eyes
Staying back and watching me shine and I didn't know if you knew
So I'm taking this chance to say that I had the best day with you today