My parents are polar opposites on alot of things. My mom is very soft spoken and requires time to warm up to you to conversate with you beyond pleasantries. Dad on the other hand has never met a stranger. He will walk up and dive right in a convo with you. Both loves the heck out of their kids and grandkids and greatgrands.
I remember being in college living at home and my oldest sister was on me about not having a boyfriend at the time. She wanted me to go out but I did not want to go. She was really giving me a hard time. I didn't care because I was gonna do what I wanted to do regardless. My parents taught us that lesson early. The " Are you gonna follow if everyone is jumping off a mountain?" lesson. Dad walked through and heard her on me. He just snapped and said "What she need to be going out for? Most guys out there ain't no good. She is just fine." My sister and I look at each other and laughed but I could have hugged the breath out of him for saying that. In his own way he was trying to protect his baby girl. My sister ofcourse backed off. Dad never would say things like that or for that matter he never would tell us that he loved us. He believes it is more important to show people your love. He has done this all my life.
If any of us kids would just try to do something he would always step in and aide us but you HAD to make the effort first. He was always a teacher when it came to doing stuff, especially mechanical stuff. He made sure we understood the thought process behind troubleshooting problems and fixing them.Mom on the other hand was very quiet. She would always teach us to be self sufficient. She was/is an example for how to be a helpmate to our husbands. She taught us that it was okay if we didn't marry. I think her focus was on raising good kids that could grow up to be happy productive with or without husbands. She was the one who would help me with my school projects. She gave us all the "girl talks". Since I was the youngest of three girls, I heard all the talks three times and the last time is applied to me. I think that approach was very innovative for the time. When I first heard the talks, I had no clue what they were talking about. But sometimes stuff would happen before mom gave me my talk. I would know what to do because I was there for my sisters talks. Mom was a house wife until after I graduated high school. She made sure we got up on time to catch the bus when we were small and always cooked breakfast. I never came home to an empty house. At the time, I did not appreciate all of that but it was a blessings even in back then. On the days I got in fights on the way home, I would wonder how she could just look at me and tell. Mann my hair and clothes were probably all messed up even though I would swear I had put everything back right.
She knew that I would never start any fights but WOULD not let ANYONE (boy or girl) push me around. I would go toe to toe .. win or lose NOBODY was gonna push me around or take my stuff. On those days she would do the unforgivable and call the school to talk with the principal. The principal would make whoever aploigize over the intercome. HOW EMBRASSING!!! This was her way of protecting her baby.
Well now my parents are aging. Dad stays busy by working on cars and his yard. He is obsessed at the moment with flowers and his tomatoes. Lord knows he does have some kind of a green thumb. I do okay with plants but not like him. He does have some health issues but as long as he takes his meds properly he is fine.
My mom for the last 5 or more years stays at home almost ALL day EVERY day. Everyone comes and goes but she doesn't go anywhere most days. Now she is having problems with her knees which causes her to be less agile. She can still get around but she does not have a good range of motion in her knees. She is also over weight. My sister and I have been working on trying to get her moving. We would try to encourage her but she would always come with some excuse. Im about as subtle as a brick to the head. Im totally amazed that I tried to gently encourage her for so long. Okay with all that being said, I just finally asked if I could go with her to her doctor visit and I told her why. That WE needed to figure out what is going on with her weight and that would in the end help her knees and much more. She was very sad but I think that was because she was having to face this problem head on. I had offered to get her a membership at the YMCA but she had been unreceptive in the past. I went to the doctor with her. The doctor was okay with her because her blood pressure and her sugar level was fine. I asked him about her weight and her knees. He basically told us that he is concerned only with those issues and that he meds makes he retain weight... like there is nothing we can do. Then he said if it becomes a problem she can have laproscopic surgery or knee replacement surgery. I DO NOT LIKE HER DOCTOR!!!!! I asked again if there was thing we could do? No suggestions. I asked if he would recommend water aerobics. He said yes. I also asked for a refferal to a diabetic nutrion class. Well damn!!! He brought absoulutely NOTHING to the table.
Anyhow, I stopped by the local YMCA with my mom and had them give us a tour and membership papers. I stopped by the store and brought my mom a swimsuit and towel. I filled the papers out for her and she returned them the next day. Now she has been taking water aerobics and a chair aerobics classes. She also walks on the track. She is out making new friends. The seniors from the senior communities go on field trips too. We got her MOVING!! YAYYY!!! GO MAMA CRE!!! *CARTSWHEELS*
