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Someday when my children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will
tell them, as my Mean Mom told me: I loved you
enough to ask where you were going, with whom,
and what time you would be home.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you
discover that your new best friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to make you go pay for the
bubble gum you had taken and tell the clerk, "I
stole this yesterday and want to pay for it."
I loved you enough to
stand over you for two hours
while you cleaned your room, a job that should have
taken 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to let you see anger,
disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children must
learn that their parents aren't perfect.
I loved you enough to let you assume the
responsibility for your actions even when the
penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.
But most of all, I loved you enough. To say
NO when I knew you would hate me for it.
Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm
glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.
And someday when your children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates parents, you
will tell them.
Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the
meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids
ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal,
eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a
Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.
And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was
different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at
all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She
had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She
insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be
gone for an hour or less. We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the
nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to
wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do
laundry and empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she
would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She
always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read
our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really
tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friend's just honk the horn when they drove
up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other
kids experienced. None of us has ever been caught shoplifting,
vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all
her fault.
Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest
adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.
I think that is what's wrong with the world today.
It just doesn't have enough mean moms!
understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will
tell them, as my Mean Mom told me: I loved you
enough to ask where you were going, with whom,
and what time you would be home.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you
discover that your new best friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to make you go pay for the
bubble gum you had taken and tell the clerk, "I
stole this yesterday and want to pay for it."
I loved you enough to
stand over you for two hours
while you cleaned your room, a job that should have
taken 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to let you see anger,
disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children must
learn that their parents aren't perfect.
I loved you enough to let you assume the
responsibility for your actions even when the
penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.
But most of all, I loved you enough. To say
NO when I knew you would hate me for it.
Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm
glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.
And someday when your children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates parents, you
will tell them.
Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the
meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids
ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal,
eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a
Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.
And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was
different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at
all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She
had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She
insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be
gone for an hour or less. We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the
nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to
wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do
laundry and empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she
would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She
always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read
our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really
tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friend's just honk the horn when they drove
up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other
kids experienced. None of us has ever been caught shoplifting,
vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all
her fault.
Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest
adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.
I think that is what's wrong with the world today.
It just doesn't have enough mean moms!
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