Life is What Happens to You : Day Three

I want to apologize for not writing anything yesterday. Due to my recent breakup, and the desire of my friends that I not drink alone (which is a very good idea), we had a movie night. The theme was "animals who kill people", and it was a perfect B-rated movie night. We picked two of the worst movies ever made, and sat through both of them. Laughing and eating all of the delicious food everyone brought. Life is so much more worth it when you have such wonderful people in your corner.

Day 03 – Your parents

My mother is Jan, my father is David (NOT Dave.) They have been married for over thirty years, and are each other's best friend.

My mother works for an agency for the state, my father works for the local university. Both of them work with and for people with disabilities.

They are my ultimate strength. They are also two of my best friends.

They both enjoy drinking beer and laughing. The Friday night and Sunday afternoon ritual usually involves some sort of micro brewery.

My mother and I butt heads a lot. Most of this I attribute to us being so much alike. We are both extremely strong women who have trouble apologizing or taking blame for things we don't feel to be our fault. We both have addictive personalities, though hers tends to be more wide ranged than mine.

My father is one of the most gentle men I have ever known. I find this an extremely attractive trait in men, and I love that my dad has been able to pass this on to my son. Dad and Aiden are the best of friends. My father (having had two daughters, and never a son) has really been able to shine though being the grandpa of a little boy. They can do boy things together like go fishing, camping, and play in the mud. My father is the one person who is able to channel a lot of Aiden's energy into constructive means; scooping the snow, drilling screws into a piece of wood, hammering nails.

One of my favorite memories of my mother is as my labor coach when I had Aiden. She was there every step of the way, putting up with my terrible mood swings, delirium, and pregnancy gas. I spend two hours pushing, and she almost passed out a couple of times because she had been pushing too. She also stuck her head between my legs to announce "I see his hair!" How many people can say their mother has done THAT?

My favorite memory of my father was him taking me shopping for a dress for a wedding. I was in 4th grade and had just started getting little boob bumps. I was more embarrassed than anything to be clothing shopping with my father. He picked out this dress, and had me try it on. It was tea length, black with white polka dots and a red ribbon. It was perfect. He was so proud to have been able to take his little girl dress shopping and actually come home with the perfect outfit. We also picked out a little hat to go with it, and pinned a red flower to the brim. This was the man who attempted to put my hair into a ponytail once, and never again, because he couldn't do it. He brought up the dress story to me only a few months ago, and his face still glowed when he talked about it.

My mother graduated from college just a few years ago, having spent the years taking a class or two at night during each semester, working full time, and raising a household. She is my hero.

My parents met in high school, married young, and have managed to beat most of the odds their entire life. I can only hope that when I meet the man I'm meant to spend my life with, that I'll be able to have the love the two of them still do, after thirty years.