“Mom, remember that obnoxious third grader who was running around the waiting room at the doctor’s office the other day, screaming his head off?”
How could I forget? “Yeah. What about him?”
“He’s one of our neighbors.”
Oh, joy.
My 12-year-old son squinted out our kitchen window through the soft Seattle drizzle. “I see that kid. And he’s standing on the roof of his house… Now he’s jumping off the roof. That kid just jumped off his roof!”
“What?” Startled, I joined my son at the window. “That roof is at least nine feet high!”
We peered across our backyard and into the neighbor’s front yard. Our jaws dropped when, a couple minutes later, an ambulance pulled up. They loaded an adult (not the jumper) into the ambulance (perhaps the kid’s mom had a heart attack when she discovered her son had been playing on the roof during a rainstorm).
My son, ever the philosopher, commented, “When I’m a parent, there’s NO WAY I will let my kids play on the roof.”
“I’m glad to hear that. A big part of a parent’s job is to try to protect his children. I’m sure you’ll be a great dad someday.”
My son nodded. “No offense, Mom, but I’ve watched you and Dad, and I’m learning from the—er—mistakes you make. That way, I won’t make the same mistakes when I’m a Dad.”
Humbling parental moment!
I smiled (with some chagrin), and replied, “Yep, we do make a lot of mistakes. One of my prayers for you is that you will learn from our mistakes and be a better parent than I am. My hope is that each generation does a better job parenting than the previous one.”
My son nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to be a good parent. And when my son turns 16, I’m going to give him up for adoption.”
My eyes narrowed as my head snapped his direction.
With a quick giggle, my son added, “Heh heh; just kidding.” (he has a 16-year-old brother)
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I sure hope that they’ll be better than my parents. I’m not sure how I’m doing, but my parents were not the prime example of why you would want kids. I was hesitant to adopt just for that reason.
What if I turn into my parents? It scared me, but I think that I’m doing a much better job. Boy, I hope so.