Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my daughters and how important they are to me. They know it, too. So why is it that when I express concern for their well-being, I almost always get in trouble with them?
My daughters are all in their 20's now. They are amazing, capable, hard-working and productive members of society. Even so, I cannot help saying, "Be careful!" when they are about to go out with their friends or when they are going to drive long distances in the car. I really can't help it. Maybe that's why Beckie waited until after she had gone sky diving to tell me about it. Can you blame her? But could you have blamed me if I had tried to talk her out of it?
The thing is - I do trust them and trust their judgment. It's other people that I don't trust. A friend at work recently announced that her daughter had just gotten her driver's license. I feel for her, because I remember how hard it is to let go. Yes, you have to have faith, but it is so hard to let go. You teach your kids how to drive, but you have no control over what the other drivers are doing.
So as well as I know that it drives my girls crazy to hear me say 'be careful,' it's a compulsion I just can't stop. I bite my tongue, but the words still come out. Then there are the times that they will ask me what I think about something...am I supposed to lie if I'm not crazy about a decision they've made or a direction they are going in? I apologize for all the times I've said the wrong thing or the times I just haven't been able to keep my big mouth shut. I will also apologize in advance for the times that I will disappoint them in the future. I hope that someday they will see how hard it is to quit being protective. Forgive me, Jenn, Mandi and Beckie. I am still a work in progress.
1 comment:
Cliff does that to me, and, yes, I'm annoyed. But he means well. As you mean well. So don't be too hard on yourself.
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