Growing up is full of trials and tribulations, and no-one knows what is in store for their lives. It's such a huge question about life.

Mothers and fathers are responsible for so much. Parents have the responsibility of "molding" their children into decent grownup human beings. What a HUGE responsibility! I think what parents don't understand though, and what some children don't also, is that once we reach a certain age and point in our lives, that we are ultimately responsible for ourselves. How easy is it, after all, to blame our faults on someone else. Parents are sometimes the "easy scapegoat". What people should really do, is look back upon how they were raised.

Lately, I have done some "soul searching". I have looked back upon my childhood, and here is what I remember....

I remember.....sitting on the front porch eating fresh homemade buttered wheat bread.

I remember.....Mom staying up late at night to sew. For a while, Mom made clothes for us to wear to school. granted, I wasn't very happy about wearing those clothes, because I was selfish and wanted store bought. Thinking back though, we all had to make sacrifices for Mom to stay home with us every day. I didn't think about that then. I do now though. She made such sacrifices. It was worth it.

I remember......candle light family dinners on Friday nights. I do treasure how special they really were. All of us sitting together, holding hands during prayer and celebrating family together. Mom always made these evenings unique. The pudding in the wine glasses made me feel so special. Everything was so perfect.

I remember.....family game nights every Thursday. Even though us kids always ended up fighting, they kept up the tradition. I hope they don't think their efforts went unnoticed. Children can be pretty selfish and don't really see (until years later) how important they must have been to their parents to have done that. Most kids don't have that now. Family just doesn't seem to be as important.

I remember.....not being able to date until I was 16. Back then I really hated that. But, now having two daughters of my own, I TOTALLY understand what they were thinking.

I remember.....sitting down together every night for dinner. Mom always cooked a wonderful meal every night for our family(even if she worked full time). That was one thing we could always count on. And once again, we always held hands and prayed before every meal.

I remember.....always having to say "Yes, Sir and Yes, Ma'am". And, having to ask to be excused from the table. This taught me to respect my parents, and to respect my elders. That was very much instilled in me. I only hope that some of that respect you taught me carries over to my own daughters.

I remember.....family vactions. How they ever tolerated us four in the car for so long I'll never know. But, we got to visit many places. That was very exciting.

I remember.....never having to worry about wether or not Mom and Dad would stay together. I never even doubted that. Even through hard times, their love for each other was never doubted by me. That is the way it should be. always together, through thick and thin.

I remember.....My parents being there for their children, through the thick and thin no matter what. Mom and Dad, you can only do so much for us. As I said before, we are ultimately responsible for ourselves. If we make mistakes (even really bad ones). WE make them, not you. We are responsible for them. At some point, children have to fly on their own. I really believe that if you come from a solid background(like we did), we are absolutlely accountable for our actions.

I remember...... alot of things but what I remember most is Love......

and it's time for us to FLY......