My Parents

I was recently informed that I needed to blog more... Two times in January just isn't going to cut it if I'm going to be a real blogger. So, topic of choice tonight: Parenting.

Whenever anyone asks me about growing up or my parents, etc...my response is, "my parents hung the moon". I know everyone is not able to say that but to me, I truly could not have asked for anything more. Of course there were times where we disagreed, and they annoyed the living daylights out of me, but they still established a strong foundation for me to learn who Christ is and what He's all about. I can call either parent up and ask for advice and I'll know they'll be giving me something biblical.

Dad's the kind of guy who when you call him, you just know you're making his day because he always sounds like you just made it. He can always make things look better and I definitely got my "optimistic" trait from him. I remember calling him up while I was in college playing soccer and I was absolutely miserable. I called him up crying and said, "Dad, I have 130 more days of this! There's no way I can do it!" and he said, "Erin, that's just about 5 months, not even half a year. I know you can do this!" I remember thinking, he does have a point, "5 sounds a lot better than 130!!" And he was right; I made it.

Mom is the fun mom. Not the kind of mom who isn't the parent, but the mom who will play cards (or any game with you for that matter), go shopping with you, cook your favorite dinner when you need it and listen when you just need her to listen. We were in a really bad car accident when we were little and she was in a coma for a few days and had to relearn a lot of things. Her memory never quite made a full recovery, at least, that's what I believed for many years...I've just recently been introduced to the word "selective" and I have a hunch that may play a small role in hers.. But all that is to say that she is surprised when I tell her things she used to do for us that meant a lot to me.

They took us to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, VBS and church camps. They took us to soccer practice all over the state of Georgia, multiple nights a week and came to all our games. They were our #1 fans. They helped us with homework. They were consistent. They tried to lead by example and they loved us unconditionally.

I've always been and will forever be grateful. Now as a parent, I know I have a big responsibility to carry on.